The Eric Stein papers consist of his writings, correspondence, and biographical material, spanning his early professional career in the military in the 1930s, through his death in 2011, but primarily focusing on his career as a professor of law at the University of Michigan. The materials received by Stein were donated in three main installments and as such are arranged in this manner. Many of the series contain materials from multiple accessions, but the larger series, such as the correspondence and topical files, are arranged in multiple sub-series. Because sub-series are arranged by accession, there is some overlap in subjects covered as well as dates of material.
Eric Stein was born in Holice, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, on July 8, 1913, the son of Zikmund Stein and Herminia Zalud Stein. He had two sisters, Valy Weiner and Trude Stein. Stein received his J.U.D. from Charles University, Prague, in 1937, and his J.D. from the University of Michigan in 1942. Following service with the U.S. Army Allied Commission for Italy, Legal Subcommission from 1942 to 1946, Stein maintained a high profile in international affairs. He served with the U.S. Department of State from 1946 to 1955 and held additional positions with the U.S. United Nations delegation.
Stein met Virginia "Ginny" Elizabeth Rhine in the early 1950s after she had graduated from Columbia University while both were living in Washington D.C., and the two got married in 1955. Virginia became very involved in Eric's professional career, serving as an editor for his academic work. In the same year, Stein began a long and distinguished tenure on the University of Michigan Law School faculty. After two years as associate professor, Stein was promoted to full professor in 1957. Stein's professional and legal interests kept him actively involved in international studies. He was co-director, with William W. Bishop, Jr., of International and Comparative Legal Studies from 1958 to 1976, and director from 1976 to 1981. In this capacity he promoted multi-national studies and programs, such as an exchange program for faculty and students between the University of Michigan and the Free University of Brussels, Belgium. Stein was an active participant on several university committees, and these memberships also reflect his international orientation. During his tenure, he served on the Faculty Advisory Committee on International Programs (FACIP), on the Vandenberg Lecture Committee, and with the Center for Western European Studies. His achievements have been recognized by two honorary doctorates (from the Université Libre Brussels, Belgium, 1978, and from the West-Bohemian University Pilsen, Czech Republic, 1997). He also worked to coordinate the Ford Foundation grants for International and Comparative Legal Studies at the Law School, and for over a decade wrote the Law School's submission to the university's general Ford Foundation annual reports.
Much of Stein's scholarship has focused on transnational economic institutions, and on other international aspects of the law such as disarmament and weapons control. His was among the first courses in the world on the European Common Market, and students came from across Europe to the United States to take it. His published books include: American Enterprise in the European Common Market: A Legal Profile, editor (1960); Courts and Free Markets: Perspectives from the United States and Europe (1982), Czecho/Slovakia: Ethnic Conflict/Constitutional Fissures/Negotiated Breakup (1997), Diplomats, Scientists and Politicians: The United States and the Nuclear Test Ban Negotiations (1966) and Thoughts from a Bridge: A Retrospective of Writings on New Europe and American Federalism (2000).
Stein retired from the Law School in 1983, and after being reappointed several times to teach courses, he retired for the last time in 1990, though he continues to guest lecture as professor emeritus. Stein was also invited as an advisor to the Czech and Slovak governments on issues of constitutional drafting in 1990-1993. In 2001, President Vaclav Havel awarded him the Medal of Merit First Degree for Outstanding Scholarly Achievement of the Czech Republic, and was made an honorary Czech citizen of Holice. Eric Stein passed away in 2011 at the age of 98.
