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Finding Aid for the Arthur Stern papers, 1938-2013
LSC.2332
LSC.2332
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Title: Arthur Stern papers
Identifier/Call Number: LSC.2332
Contributing Institution:
UCLA Library Special Collections
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
29.4 linear feet
(66 boxes, 1 half box, 2 shoeboxes, 2 flat storage boxes, and 1 carton)
Date (inclusive): 1938-2013
Abstract: Arthur P. Stern (1925-2012) was a Holocaust survivor, engineer, and philanthropist born in Budapest, Hungary. The collection
includes his personal and professional papers, such as technical publications, correspondence and printed material from conferences
and professional organizations, and company-related correspondence and memos, as well as personal correspondence with family
and friends from throughout Stern’s life. The collection also includes correspondence and documentation related to the Holocaust
and the Stern family’s efforts for restitution, as well as correspondence and printed materials related to the many community
organizations with which Stern was involved.
Language of Materials: Materials are primarily in English, some materials in French, German, and Hungarian.
Physical Location: Stored off-site at SRLF. All requests to access special collections material must be made in advance using the request button
located on this page.
Creator:
Stern, Arthur P.
COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF: Open for research. All requests to access special collections material must be made in
advance using the request button located on this page.
Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use
Property rights to the physical object belong to the UCLA Library Special Collections. Literary rights, including copyright,
are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright
and pursue the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.
[Identification of item], Arthur Stern Papers (Collection 2332). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research
Library, University of California, Los Angeles.
Provenance/Source of Acquisition
Stern family; gift; 2017.
Processed by Rebecca Townsend, graduate student in Information Studies, in 2017 under the supervision of Courtney Dean in
the
Center for Primary Research and Training (CFPRT) . German language abstracts by Sarah Johnson, Jewish History doctoral student, 2017.
UCLA Catalog Record ID:
8147898
Arthur P. Stern was a Holocaust survivor, engineer, and philanthropist born in Budapest, Hungary on July 20, 1925. In 1944,
he was deported to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp as part of the Kasztner transport and was then taken to a refugee
camp in Switzerland. After liberation, he studied at the University of Geneva, the University of Lausanne, and the Swiss Federal
Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH), where he earned a Diplom-Ingenieur and also served as an instructor.
Stern immigrated to the United States in 1951, where he worked for General Electric (GE) in Syracuse, NY and earned his master’s
degree in electrical engineering at Syracuse University. At GE, he was involved with pioneering technology for the transistor
radio and the color television. He then served as Engineering Director of Martin Marietta’s electronics division and managed
the design of defense systems at Bunker Ramo Corporation. Stern became Vice President of the Magnavox Company in 1966. At
Magnavox, he led the team that developed the Navstar Global Positioning System. He retired in 1991 as President of Magnavox
Advanced Products and Systems and as Vice Chairman of the Magnavox Government and Industrial Electronics Company (MAGIEC).
Over the course of his career, Stern authored a number of technical papers and 12 patents, and was involved with numerous
professional organizations including the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), of which he served as President
in 1975, and the International Solid-State Circuits Conference (ISSCC), of which he was a founder . His work had a lasting
impact, as transistor technology and the other solid-state electronics developments that followed paved the way for the chips
now found in computers and cell phones.
After his retirement, Stern became active in non-profit and Jewish community organizations, at both a local and national level.
He served as Founding President of the California Israel Chamber of Commerce, Vice Chair of Los Angeles Jewish Community Relations
Committee, Director of the National Jewish Council for Public Affairs, and Chairman of the California Humanitarian Foundation
for Holocaust Survivors.
Stern and his wife, Edith, had three children: Daniel, Jacqueline, and Claude, and seven grandchildren. He died on May 25,
2012 in Beverly Hills, California.
The papers of Arthur Stern date from 1938-2013 and include material related to both his personal and professional activities.
His professional materials begin with notes and papers from his engineering studies in Switzerland. The Engineering series
principally includes company-related correspondence, memos, and travel itineraries from his career at General Electric (1951-1961),
Martin Marietta (1961-1964), Bunker Ramo Corporation (1964-1966), and Magnavox (1966-1991). The professional materials also
include correspondence and printed material related to conferences and professional organizations, particularly the Institute
of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), which Stern led as President in 1975. Engineering technical publications are
included in the Publications series. One strength of the collection is its documentation of patent paperwork and correspondence
related to the transistor radio, color television, and GPS systems.
The collection also includes personal correspondence with family and friends from throughout Stern’s life, particularly with
his parents Leon and Bertha, his brother Robert, and his children. Much of the correspondence with family who remained in
Europe is in German and Hungarian. The personal materials also include legal correspondence and documentation related to the
Holocaust and the Stern family’s efforts for restitution. Another strength of the collection is the oral history transcripts
and recordings in which Stern discusses his experience of the Holocaust, including an interview with his son, Claude, and
an interview with the USC Shoah Foundation.
Additionally, the collection includes correspondence and printed materials related to the many community organizations with
which Stern was involved, particularly after his retirement from Magnavox in 1991. Some notable organizations represented
in the collection are the California Humanitarian Foundation for Holocaust Survivors, Americans for Peace Now, and the California
Israel Chamber of Commerce.
This collection has been arranged in the following series:
- Series 1: Engineering 1948-2011
- Subseries 1.1: Switzerland 1948-1951
- Subseries 1.2: Early career 1951-1966
- Subseries 1.3: Magnavox 1964-2004
- Subseries 1.4: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 1972-2011
- Series 2: Publications 1953-2004
- Series 3: Personal materials 1940-2012
- Series 4: Holocaust restitution 1938-2013
- Series 5: Community Involvement 1966-2012
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
COLLECTION CONTAINS AUDIOVISUAL MATERIALS: Audiovisual materials in this collection will require assessment and possible digitization
for safe access. All requests to access special collections material must be made in advance using the request button located
on this page.
COLLECTION CONTAINS DIGITAL MATERIALS: Special equipment or further processing may be required for viewing. All requests to
access special collections material must be made in advance using the request button located on this page.
Arthur Stern’s oral history with the USC Shoah Foundation is available digitally through the
Shoah Foundation’s Visual History Archive .
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Stern, Arthur P. -- Archives.
Electronics engineers--United States--Archives.
Holocaust survivors--United States--Archives.