Province of Upper Silesia
Grunfeld was born in Breslau (today Wroclaw) in the Prussian Province of Upper Silesia to an assimilated Jewish family with longstanding interests in the Steel and Chemicals industries. He was educated in Breslau and Berlin. Grunfeld became prominent in the German Steel Industry at the age of just 20 after his father's death forced him to take over the operations of the family steel piping business, A. Niederstetter. He subsequently represented the German Steel Industry in its negotiations with the Weimar government. Later, Grunfeld had to confront critical problems posed by the aftermath of hyperinflation, industrial unrest and world depression following the Wall Street Crash of 1929. At the age of 27 he became closely involved in the aftermath of the 1931 banking crisis, serving on more than 20 creditor committees.