We Were Merchants – Book Review

Do not judge this book by its cover, or even by its title. We Were Merchants: The Sternberg Family and the Story of Goudchaux’s and Maison Blanche Department Stores belies and bests the celebratory consumerism of its name and cover image. Written by Hans Sternberg with LSU journalism professor James Shelledy and published by LSU Press, We Were Merchants tells the remarkable story of a family who achieved the American dream against staggering odds, while maintaining a commitment to community and social progress. Goudchaux’s and Maison Blanche, though real department stores, might well have been fictional metaphors cleverly crafted to invoke the triumphs and challenges of the modern human condition.

The Sternbergs were merchants with a mercantile legacy stretching back five generations to 18th century Germany and sustained through the last decade of the 20th century in the United States. The continental switch in 1936, though, was not a choice. Unlike two of his uncles, Erich Sternberg fled Nazi-Germany to save his family. In January 1936 he boarded the USS Majestic; wife, Lea, and children Josef, Insa and Hans, would follow before the year’s end, joining Erich Sternberg in Baton Rouge. Within a year, Erich became the lessee of the men’s department and the future proprietor of Goudchaux’s Department store downtown. He would spend the next several years establishing his business, settling his family into life in a new land and signing letters of sponsorship for nearly 100 German-Jews, from relatives to relative-strangers, seeking asylum in the United States.

In addition to doing all he could to help family and friends back in Germany, Erich Sternberg was a model of his own philosophy: “service is the key to success.” Under his direction, Goudchaux’s blossomed into more than a business. It was a community where children were rewarded for simply being children, with nickels from Erich’s pocket.

From religious persecution in Germany to the Great Depression and Segregation in the United States, the Sternbergs experienced some of the darkest periods of recent history. We Were Merchants offers a detailed glimpse into this remarkable family’s perseverance and success.