 In 1917, despite the fact that World War I was still continuing, the 12-year-old Giertz was sent to a language camp in Germany.For several years after his return he did summer work for his father, assisting at Knut Giertz's surgical clinic and documenting the proceedings in Latin for the clinic's logbook.In 1924 Giertz graduated from the Norra Latin senior secondary school for boys in the Norrmalm district of Stockholm.