Legacy
The Starks reached out to Schmidt, then
working for Sam's Cut-Rate in Detroit.
Walter sent letters to plead with Herman
Osnos, the boss, to provide affidavits for
the two brothers. Meanwhile, Herman
Stark was forced to sell his business at a
fraction of its value.
In July 1937, Osnos wrote to assure the
family of his support. Werner Stark, then 16,
wrote back, "Having heard such excellent a
message from my brother, I am feeling that I
have got to thank you for it with all my heart.
I shall always endeavor to prove myself wor-
thy of it when the time comes"
It would be 16 months before the affida-
vits, passports and visas were in order, but
on Sept. 14, 1938, the Stark boys sailed on
the Queen Mary for New York. Their sister,
Lilo, remembered saying goodbye to them
at the train station, believing she'd never
see them again.
In November, the rest of the family fled
Munich after Kristallnacht, the night of
raids and riots against Jews. Lilo watched
from the window as the Gestapo moved
up the street, pulling people out of their
homes in their nightclothes and dragging
them away. Herman hid from the soldiers
in plain sight by walking, talking and
laughing on the streets with 14-year-old
Lilo. As they passed the train station, they
saw Jews being herded onto trains.
Hours later, the family left Munich,
evading the round-up of Jews that sent
many of their friends and family to labor
camps and prisons.
Detroiter's ties
to the Counter
Intelligence
Corps deserve
remembering.
Barbara Stark-Nemon
Jacqueline Stark Odom
Special to the Jewish News
I
f you take a man's blanket away dur-
ing a freezing night in a prison camp,
it contributes greatly to refreshing his
memory."
This wry observation described the
interrogation of Josef Mengele, the death
doctor at Auschwitz, by a young Counter
Intelligence Corps agent at an American
POW camp in the chaotic aftermath of
WWII in Germany. The agent went on to
interpret and do undercover work at the
Nuremberg trials, while Mengele slipped
away from American authorities.
We know this because in 1993, the
championship tennis-playing owner of a
successful multi-state food brokerage busi-
ness in Detroit publicly revealed in a vid-
eotape for the Holocaust Memorial Center
what had happened nearly 50 years before.
The agent and the businessman were one
and the same man: Werner E. Stark.
Born in 1921 in Munich, he enjoyed a
privileged childhood with siblings Walter
and Lilo. His father, Herman, was a part-
ner in a clothing manufacturing and retail
business. As a child, Stark excelled at gym-
nastics, soccer, skiing and especially ten-
nis. His mother, Klara, enjoyed telling the
story of 12-year-old Werner running away
to join the circus to perform gymnastics.
At a young age, Stark's determination,
adventurous spirit and desire to pursue his
dreams were quite evident.
Stark described the rise of Hitler as
having a "slow, little-by-little infringe-
ment" on his life. The Nazis placed restric-
tions on athletic training, education and
recreational activities. During a ski trip,
he was asked to leave a restaurant after
being identified by a schoolmate as a Jew.
Legacy on page 12
Walter, Herman and Werner Stark in Munich, 1924
Endless rejection and name calling left
him angry and humiliated, yet his father
instructed him not to retaliate because it
would draw unwanted attention.
Escaping The Nazis
The Nuremburg Laws of 1935 placed
restrictions on the family business, which
then began to suffer. Stark watched the
Nazis break windows and close the store
on the busiest sales days. Albert Schmidt,
a young window dresser at the store, asked
Herman for help to get to America and
was given funds and a new suit
of clothing.
Schmidt subsequently helped
the Starks emigrate, which taught
Werner that if you take care of
your employees, you will have
their loyalty when you need it.
The conditions in Munich wors-
ened, and Klara placed the family
on the waiting list for visas at the
American Embassy. By the end
of 1936, it was clear they had to
leave Germany.
A studio portrait of a young Werner Stark
10 November 28 • 2013