Identity tag issued and worn by Jewish man in Dachau concentration camp

Bernard Stern (1913-2000) was born Berl Stern on 20 April 1913 in Tauragė, Lithuania to Chava and Yosef Stern. He had 6 siblings: Ephraim, Jakob, Josheved, Shara, Smul, and Solim. Bernard became a pharmacist and lived in Kovno (Kaunas, Lithuania). He met Cipora Kagan while living there and they married. Their son Ben-Zion was born in 1939. In August 1941 the family was sent to the Kovno ghetto.

Ben-Zion was murdered in a Children’s Action in March 1944. In July 1944 Bernard was deported to the Dachau concentration camp. Cipora was deported in the same month to Stuffhof. He was liberated in April 1945. Bernard and Cipora were reunited after the war and lived in the Landsberg displaced person camp until December 1947 when they moved to Munich, Germany. While living in Landsberg, Bernard became the chief pharmacist for the camp. Their daughter Marlene was born on 27 January 1947. In May 1949 the family immigrated to the United States.