Rudolf Bernhard Stern was the son of Albert Stern and Marie Ebstein. Albert was the co-owner of the firm of Graumann und Stern, a garment company in the centre of Berlin. Rudolf and his fiancée were involved in anti-Nazi activities in that city. According to his sister, when Rudolf went out in the streets he kept a piece of steel cable – the kind used in reinforced concrete – in one trouser leg for self-defence, and he had a pistol in his room at his parents’ home. The gun was not found during a search of the house because his room was such a mess. After fleeing to the Netherlands, Rudolf and his non-Jewish girlfriend had to go to Belgium to get married, probably because in 1938 the Netherlands was following the example of Germany’s Nuremberg Laws. Rudolf worked as an architect, until Jews were barred from this profession. He then began making wooden toys on the lower floor of his apartment in Zocherstraat in Amsterdam. On the last day that Jews were permitted to take the train, Rudolf travelled to Groningen to visit the artist N.H. Werkman. This is described in Werkman's book, which includes letters. Rudolf bought four prints from Werkman and stayed at the artist’s house for a while. He later went into hiding with the help of some friends. He ended up on a farm where other Jews were hiding, and where weapons were stored for the underground. The local postman probably betrayed the location to the authorities. As a result, German soldiers showed up in an army truck. According to eyewitnesses, Rudolf ran into the field with a pistol and shot down two German soldiers before he was captured. He was taken to Westerbork and deported from there to Auschwitz in 1944. After that, he ended up in Buchenwald. Rudolf had two children, both of whom survived the war.
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