24 | FEBRUARY 3 • 2022 

OUR COMMUNITY

G

uy Stern turned 100 
years old on Jan. 14. 
He is the Energizer 
Bunny personified, still 
working five days a week in 
his role as director of the 
International Institute of the 
Righteous at the Zekelman 
Holocaust 
Center (HC) 
in Farmington 
Hills.
If Guy had 
only reached 
that milestone 
20 years sooner, 
he could’ve 
walked to the 
Bill Knapp’s restaurant next 
door to the HC on Orchard 
Lake Road and received a 
free meal. The now-closed 
chain famously gave patrons 
dining in on their birthday a 
percentage off their bill equal 
to their age, not to mention a 
free cake. 
Guy is, of course, no 
stranger to the pages of the 

JN. I’ve had the high privilege 
of writing about him on a 
number of occasions, his life 
story never ceasing to amaze. 
He was only 15 years old 
in 1937 when his father, 
Julius, witnessing the seeds 
of Nazism taking hold, chose 
Gunther (Guy) to be the lone 
member of his family to travel 
from Germany to America 
with hope of securing a 
sponsorship for the rest of the 
family. A heartless lawyer in 
the U.S. thwarted those plans. 
Stern’s parents and siblings 
would ultimately perish in the 
Warsaw Ghetto.
Only seven years later, 
Guy would land on the 
beaches of Normandy three 
days after D-Day as part 
of the elite WWII United 
States intelligence force 
known as the “Ritchie Boys.” 
Many were Jewish German 
immigrants, called upon to 
use their language skills to 
interrogate Nazi prisoners of 

war. They are credited with 
securing 60% of the vital 
intelligence in Europe during 
the war. Stern would be 
awarded a Bronze Star for his 
efforts. 
On Jan. 22, CBS’ 60 
Minutes dedicated an entire 
program to the Ritchie Boys, 
featuring riveting interviews 
with Guy and two of his 
surviving comrades. 
Guy would go on to enjoy 
a long and illustrious career 
in academia, including 
serving three years as senior 
vice president and provost at 
Wayne State University. He 
continues to travel annually 
to Germany as a visiting 
professor, his last trip coming 
this past July, just months shy 
of his 100th birthday.
Since retiring from his 
academic career, Guy has 
become a fixture at the HC. 
Prior to his current role, he 
was appointed interim director 
of the center after the passing 
of founder Rabbi Charles 
Rosenzveig in December 
2008.
Under normal 
circumstances, Guy’s 
centenarian milestone 
celebration would be worthy 
of a grand affair. However, 
COVID restrictions limited 

the celebration to a couple of 
smaller gatherings. 
The day before his birthday, 
the center had what Sarah 
Saltzman, director of events 
and public relations, described 
as “a low-key family event,” 
which included about 60 
colleagues from the HC, 
docents and board of trustees, 
along with Guy’s wife, 
Susanna. 
In his remarks honoring 
Guy, CEO of the HC Rabbi 
Eli Mayerfeld said of 
Stern’s accomplishments: 
“In his experiences, he saw 
the destruction of Jewish 
communities, the end of a 
truly evil empire, and then 
participated and witnessed the 
rebuilding — the flourishing 
of survivors. For sharing these 
adventures with us, we owe 
him so much.”
In typical eloquent Stern 
fashion, he deflected the 
accolades away from 
himself and spoke of the 
impact his colleagues at 
the center have had on him 
over time, noting that: “It 
was so obvious: Everyone 
around me, from our CEO 
and board of governors to 
all my coworkers, were 
younger than me, and that 
also included my wife 

Holocaust survivor and ‘Ritchie 
Boy’ Guy Stern turns 100. 

Happy 
Birthday, Guy!

Alan 
Muskovitz
Contributing 
Writer

GUY 
STERN’S
 
 CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION

THURSDAY, JANUARY 13

9:00 AM - 10:30 AM

THE HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL CENTER

Guy Stern, right, celebrates his birthday with close friend and 
fellow survivor Eric Billes, who turned 97 the week before Guy’s 
100th birthday. The Doris & Eric Billes Museum Shop at the HC 
is named in honor of Eric and his wife, Doris, of blessed memory. 

