Much of Stehr's family background remains unknown, however in the novel Drei Nächte, if accepted as being autobiographical, he mentioned a grandfather, who came from Baden.

In autumn 1915 he settled in Bad Warmbrunn (today a district of Jelenia Góra), in 1926 he moved to Schreiberhau where he lived until his death.

He published several novels, including Leonore Griebel (a story of marital conflict), Der begrabene Gott (about a poor maid from Patschkau and her contrary husband) and Drei Nächte (set in Habelschwerdt and thought to be autobiographical).

In his satire Meicke, der Teufel, a tale of alcoholism, he described a dishonest and disreputable protagonist who too precisely resembled a farmer from Patschkau, for which he was sued and sentenced to pay 50 marks.

However, the more ideological National Socialists criticised Stehr for his advocacy of independent thought and seeking God within oneself rather than finding solace in society.

During the founding of the Weimar Republic, Stehr appeared as an election speaker for his friend Walther Rathenau, a candidate for the Democratic Party.

[10] In 1934 Stehr wrote a letter to Adolf Hitler, which was a protest against the president of the police and SA-Obergruppenfűhrer Edmund Heines who pursued a policy of terror and violence against citizens.