Passed away peacefully at home on May 6, 2014, aged 88, surrounded by his loving family. Always striving for deeper, meaningful human connection, John Steiner was unwilling to settle for superficiality. He was defined by the ordeal of surviving the Nazi camps during the Holocaust in his teenage years, losing his mother and nearly all of his family. Driven by humanistic principles and a lifelong urge to understand, in order not to hate, John Steiner's story is unique in that he tracked down and interviewed many former perpetrators in West Germany. Transgressing academic disciplines, he studied and taught for several decades at Sonoma State University and as founding Director of its Holocaust Studies Center. Born in Prague on August 3, 1925, John Steiner grew up in a German-speaking, middle-class family. Following the communist rise to power in Czechoslovakia in 1948, he emigrated to Australia, but left his new home behind to receive a scholarship and his M.A. (class of 1956) from the University of Missouri, where he majored in German literature and sociology, before moving to Berkeley to lecture at the University of California. The cornerstone of John Steiner's later career was laid by a fellowship from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, by means of which he came to Germany to begin his research on the perpetrators of the Holocaust, graduating in 1968 with a Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Freiburg. It was also there that he met his wife, Ulrike. John Steiner returned to the Bay Area as a Professor at Sonoma State University, moving to Novato in 1974. Over the years, he touched the lives of countless students, many of whom were deeply influenced by his classes. Even after his retirement in 1992, he continued his research, publishing and lecturing to a wide range of audiences, both in the US and Germany. His many distinctions include two Fulbright scholarships and the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany. To the very end, he toiled to avert future fascism and genocide by educating on the lessons of the Holocaust. He did what he could. John Steiner is survived by Ulrike and her sisters, Christiane and Franziska, his son Ingmar, his daughter-in-law Darja, and his grandsons Demian and Yulix. He will be sorely missed. Memorial to be held at Keaton's Redwood Chapel of Marin, 1801 Novato Blvd, Novato, CA 94947, on June 11 at 1 p.m. Photo by Evvy Eisen.

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Published by Press Democrat from Jun. 8 to Jun. 9, 2014.

Memories and Condolences
for John STEINER

8 Entries

Jim a Simonds

June 2, 2023

On my 50th graduation from Sonoma this year is all the more meaningful because of Dr. Steiner´s influence on my life . As my College advisor I was fortunate to be able to have spent time with him at the end of his most incredible life . Rest in Peace John .

Peter Mellini

June 17, 2014

John Steiner was a demanding colleague, who made contributions to our understanding of the Holocaust & the motivations of the Nazi SS, May he finally rest in peace.

June 17, 2014

As my College advisor SSU Class of 1973, and most recently over the last two years I had the chance to spend some wonderful times with Dr. Steiner. He continues to influence my life most importantly with his meaning of " Moral Intelligence". May he rest in Peace..

Jim Simonds

Jill Forney

June 9, 2014

I still can't believe you're gone. I love & miss you my friend. Until we meet again.

Carol Turner

June 9, 2014

Never forget

Carol Turner

June 9, 2014

I was one of Steiner's students in the late 1970s. He had an enormous impact on me and I probably learned more from him than all my other professors put together. He was the most important and brilliant teacher I ever had. Tough and intense, he brought real experience and high expectations into the classroom. He did not suffer intellectual laziness but he knew how to be encouraging to those were ready to work and learn. An "A" from Steiner was hard-worn, but it was worth the effort. As a young man, he had been through unimaginable hell but he never called himself a victim -- he was a survivor. Years later, he showed enormous courage in approaching perpetrators of the Holocaust by interviewing former SS officers. He truly wanted to understand what it was about the human psyche that created the totalitarian mentality, and he never stopped warning his students that it could happen anywhere if we weren't careful. I believe he was correct and that his message is extremely important. On a personal level, Professor Steiner became a friend and a father-figure to me and I sought his advice on many occasions. I admired and loved him deeply.

Morten Ender

June 9, 2014

All professors should be so committed. Thanks Dr. Steiner for all your wisdom.

Corina Morano-Ender

June 8, 2014

He was one of my professors at Sonoma State Univeristy in the late 1980s. I loved his courses. He never sugar-coated anything ! A realist. I was inspired by him and now teach an history course in a public high school called "The Holocaust".

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