Herbert Gruen Memorial Scholarship

Herbert Gruen was born in Vienna, Austria on May 11, 1929, the first child of Frances and Rudolph Gruen. As a boy he enjoyed playing soccer, hiking and swimming, and sledding in the winter. He was an excellent student, top of his class at school, and was said to have great potential. The Nazis took control of Austria in March 1938 and his whole family was persecuted as Jews. In early 1939 his parents had to leave Vienna, leaving Herbert in the care of his grandmother. After many unsuccessful attempts to emigrate, both were deported to the Jungfernhof concentration camp near Riga, Latvia on Dec. 3, 1941, where Herbert was killed by the Nazis four months later, together with all of the children in the camp. Although Herbert was denied the chance to achieve his potential, we hope this scholarship will hope other students reach theirs.