• This website contains some of the archives of Victor Gruder from 1911 to 1985. This is one of two coordinated websites that display some of the archives collected by Monica Gruder-Drake of her Gruder and Schestopal families from 1873 up to Monica’s death in 2021.

    Monica had wished to write a biography of her family, centering on her grandparents and parents who lived in Vienna between the two world wars and then departed in different directions and under varying circumstances as the Nazi regime made life impossible for Jewish families such as these. She carried out a tremendous amount of research and collected photographs, documents, and secondary research that provided the context for her family’s adventures. Sadly, her life was cut short before she could write the book she had intended to. Some of the stories remain in our, her family’s, hands and we wish to share them. They are essential witnessing to the tragedies and glories of the 20th century.

    This website is focused on Victor Gruder, Monica’s father.

    Monica’s Family Tree

    It includes tapes that Victor recorded in the late 1970’s-early 1980’s at Monica’s request. He called his recordings “Letters to my Daughter” and they pertain to the lives of himself, his wife Jeanette (Monica’s mother), and his father Ignaz, up to the point at which he deemed Monica would remember important events and individuals herself. Thus, there are dear and close friends of Victor and Jeanette’s, and of Monica’s (and sometimes those are the same people) who are hardly or not mentioned. This is simply because Victor knew that Monica did not need to be told about them.

    All photographs, recordings, and documents contained herein are courtesy of their owner, Earl G. Drake. We are extremely grateful to Monica’s life-long friend A. E. Dreyfuss, and to Katja Maierhofer, for assistance with transcription, translation, and editorial notes.

    The other website, still under construction, called

Schestopal.com

is dedicated to Monica’s mother Schestopal family – her mother Jeanette, her aunt Lydia and uncle Henry, primarily.

May their memory be for a blessing.

This is a work in progress and we are always wanting to improve and expand it. Should you have comments, questions, or corrections to submit, please feel free to contact us at GrudersandSchestopals @ gmail.com (after removing the [space] inserts).