Professor Emeritus Bernard Martin Wolf (1942–2026)

The association Alte Synagoge Steinsfurt mourn the loss of their member Bernard Wolf.

Bernard Wolf's mother, Hildegard Adler, came from Sinsheim, and his father, Saly Wolf, from Neidenstein. The family had a business in Muthstrasse. His parents fled to New York in 1938 and 1939, respectively, to escape the persecution of Jewish citizens. His grandmother was forced to sell the house and moved to Frankfurt, where she died under unexplained circumstances.

Bernard Wolf was born in New York in 1942. He grew up above his parents' butcher shop in Queens and studied at Queens College, City of New York University, and Yale University. Bernard Wolf later taught economics and international businesses at the Schulich School of Business at York University in Toronto for over 50 years.

Despite his family's experiences during the Third Reich, Bernard Wolf visited Germany, including Sinsheim and Neidenstein, in the 1970s, at that time with his parents. He even spent his honeymoon visiting his parents' and grandparents' hometowns. 

Bernard Wolf responded with great interest to an attempt by the Stolperstein initiative to contact him. In 2024, he came to Sinsheim and was shown documents about his family in the city archives, such as the registry office records of his parents' marriage.

Bernard Wolf was last in Sinsheim in May 2025, when Stolpersteine were laid for his parents and grandmother in front of his grandparents' house on Muthstrasse. On the eve of the laying of the stones he gave a speech in German about his family's fate, emphasizing reconciliation. It will remain in the memory of all who heard it.

We admired Bernard Wolf's energy in undertaking the stress of travelling by plane and train despite his advanced age, his friendliness, his knowledge, and his thirst for knowledge. We are grateful to have met him.