The Estate of Ekkehard Gruettner

The Estate of Ekkehard Gruettner is truly something special. Born in 1929 in Upper Silesia (now part of Poland), Ekkehard grew up on a small farm as the son of a village teacher and his farming wife. Near the end of World War II, as the Russian Red Army advanced westward, he fled with his parents and his sister, who was suffering from scarlet fever. He often spoke of his first encounter with American soldiers -- "the good guys" -- a moment that sparked a lifelong admiration for America and eventually led to his immigration to the United States. Over...