Adalbert Goertz was born on December 3, 1928, to Paul Gerhard (1887-1945) and Margarete (Schukat) (1900-1996) Goertz in Langenau, Kreis Rosenberg, West Prussia. In his early years he spent his time on the family farm. In 1939, he entered the classical school in Königsberg. In 1943, he was baptised by Emil Haendiges of the Elbing Mennonite church. At the early age of fifteen he was drafted by the German army into the anti-aircraft unit. In the war he lost three brothers and his father. He witnessed the destruction of Königsberg and escaped at night as the Russian forces were closing in on February 28, 1945. He made it to West Germany where he stayed after the war and finished his high school education. In 1950-1951, he was chosen as an exchange student by MCC (Mennonite Central Committee) and studied in Upland College, California. Upon his return to Germany, he entered into the faculty of physics at the University of Frankfurt. On August 8, 1958, he was married to Baerbel Kittler (1933-) daughter of Horst (1910-1946) and Elfriede (Fast) (1910-2001) Kittler of Danzig. It was around this time he began his research career into Prussian Mennonite history. From 1958-1960, he was employed as a physicist when in 1960, he and his family emigrated to Boulder Colorado, USA where he became employed at the National Bureau of Standards. In America he has had a distinguished career obtaining his Ph.D in 1968, and then teaching physics at various universities in the US and other countries. He retired from teaching in 1989. He continues to be active with his hobby of Mennonite history. He has contributed immense amounts of knowledge to the understanding of Mennonite history and is an expert in Prussian Mennonite history. He is a contributing editor of the magazine Mennonite Family History and continues to be involved at Bethel Mennonite Church in Colorado Springs, CO.