Meyer 's father was a German notary , who had fought in the First World War . Born in Bielefeld , Meyer , aged 14 , was sent by his parents from Nazi Germany to the Netherlands on 4 January 1939 as part of a Kindertransport convoy , and settled in Holland on his own . Their decision was made after Hajo was no longer permitted to attend school in the aftermath of Kristallnacht , His parents ' maxim was : ' We do not dote to death on children ' ( '' bei uns gibt es keine Affenliebe '' ) . He went into hiding in 1943 , but was arrested after a year and spent ten months in Auschwitz . With the assistance of a security guard , he managed to escape , and swore he would never speak German again . He broke the rule at a scientific conference in Amsterdam after the war , when he happened to be speaking on a similar topic to that discussed by Hermann Haken
Kristallnacht
Kristallnacht
Hajo Meyer