The collection comprises the personal collection of J.P. Stern and reflects his interest in 19th-20th century German literature and history. The collection has 3303 items which are predominantly 20th century based with a small number from the 18th – 19th centuries.
The collection prefix before the call number is: Stern.
Joseph Peter Maria Stern (1920-1991) was a a leading German literature scholar. He was born into a Jewish family and was educated in Prague and Vienna. He escaped to the UK and served in World War II. He completed his PhD in the University of Cambridge in 1947.
He lectured in Bedford College, London and at St John's College in Cambridge. From 1972-1986 he was Professor of German in University College London. He was elected as a Fellow to the British Academy in 1990. He wrote on Nietzsche, Kafka, Jünger and Rilke, and these writers are reflected in his collection. He edited the series Landmarks in World Literature and he was known for his work Hitler: The Führer and the People.
He met Sheila McMullan (1922-2005) as a student in 1940 and they married in 1944.
Stern, JP. History and allegory in Thomas Mann's 'Doktor Faustus'. London H.K. Lewis for University College, London, 1975.
Bridgwater, Patrick. The Poets of the Café des Westens : Blass, Heym, Hoddis, Lichtenstein. [Leicester]: Leicester University Press, 1984.
