Itzhak Stern

Itzhak Stern was born in 1901 in Kraków

Stern was born on 25 January 1901 in Kraków, then part of Austria-Hungary. He was active in the Jewish community, serving as vice president of the Jewish Agency for Western Poland and as a member of the Zionist Central Committee. In 1938 he became engaged to Sophia Backenrot.

On 18 November 1939, under Nazi occupation, Stern met Schindler while working as an accountant for a German trustee. He advised Schindler to buy or lease an enamelware company directly, and later suggested staffing the factory with Jewish workers, which shielded them from deportation. He also forged papers so that teachers and intellectuals could pass as skilled workers.

After the Kraków Ghetto was liquidated in 1943, Stern was sent to the Płaszów camp and worked in its office. In 1944 he was placed on Schindler's list and moved to the Brünnlitz camp, where he became one of the leaders of the Jewish workers. He and other leaders wrote a letter confirming Schindler's rescue of Jews.

After the Red Army freed Brünnlitz, Stern moved to Paris and later to Israel. He married Sophia in 1945 and worked for Schindler to be recognized, writing about his rescue work. He stayed friends with Schindler until his death in 1969.