ABSTRACT
Karl Stern was born on April 8th, 1906 in the town of Cham, Bavaria, a predominantly Catholic, rural enclave near the Czech border. Christmas and Chanukah are festivals that frequently coincide or overlap, so every December, Ida Stern, Karl's mother decorated a Christmas tree in the store to celebrate the season with the family's friends, customers, and employees. At eleven, Karl went to school in Munich, where he fared better. He lived with the Kohens, an orthodox Jewish family. Julius informed Karl that his belief that Jews have a unique and God-given mission to fulfill, and a special role to play in redeeming humanity as a whole, was simply delusional. In any case, in 1931, Karl returned to Frankfurt to become Professor Volhard's "Lecture Assistant"—a rare honor. At eight every morning, Karl appeared in Volhard's office to describe the patients who were available for the day's clinical demonstrations.
