Kurt Hohenemser was born on January 3, 1906, in Berlin, Germany, to the German Jewish musicologist Richard Hohenemser and his English wife Alice Salt.[2][3] He received his secondary education from the Goethe-Schule in Berlin-Wilmersdorf, Hermann-Lietz-Schule in Haubinda, and Ziehenschule in Eschersheim.[3] In 1924, Hohenemser received his Abitur.[3] Hohenemser attended university at the Technische Hochschule Darmstadt from 1924 to 1929, receiving his Diplom-Ingenieur in 1927 and his Doktoringenieur in 1929.[3][4] From 1930 until 1933, Hohenemser taught and conducted research at the University of Göttingen under Ludwig Prandtl, one of the most famous aerodynamics physicists during the 20th century.[4][5] While at Göttingen, Hohenemser and his colleague William Prager organized a political discussion group, to which they invited another colleague who supported the ideologies of the Nazi Party.[1] During these discussions, Hohenemser made comments critical of Nazi ideology.[1] After the Nazis came to power in 1933, the colleague reported these statements, and Hohenemser was dismissed from his position at the university.[3][6]