Hellmut Stern was born in 1928 in Berlin and came from a musical family. In 1938, at the age of 10, he emigrated with his parents to Harbin in Northern China. In the Japanese-occupied city, the family spent 11 years living in great poverty. Nevertheless, Hellmut Stern received private violin tuition. He began performing in public from 1942, played at weddings and cafés, and thereby also helped to feed his family. In 1949, the family managed to emigrate to Israel. Stern went to the USA in 1956 and returned to Germany in 1961. There, he became a member of the Berliner Philharmoniker for 34 years.

During his interview with the German Exile Archive in September 2013, one of the things Hellmut Stern recalled was the extreme cold that dominated the winters in Harbin and cast a great shadow over his 11 years in exile. His haunting recollections can be heard as an audio exhibit on the topic of “everyday life in exile” as part of the permanent exhibition “Exile. Experience and Testimony”.

As an important contemporary account, the complete interview with Hellmut Stern has also been included in the special exhibition “Voices of Exile” on the virtual platform “Arts in Exile”. In this personal interview, listeners can hear how the young man living in exile grew into a successful artist.

Photo: © Berliner Philharmoniker Foundation, Hellmut Stern collection