In 1940, during World War II, Steiner's father once again relocated his family, this time to New York City. Within a month of their move, the Nazis occupied Paris, and of the many Jewish children in Steiner's class at school, he was one of only two who survived the war.[6] Again his father's insight had saved his family, and this made Steiner feel like a survivor, which profoundly influenced his later writings. "My whole life has been about death, remembering and the Holocaust."[6] Steiner became a "grateful wanderer", saying that "Trees have roots and I have legs; I owe my life to that."[6] He spent the rest of his school years at the Lycée Français de New York in Manhattan, and became a United States citizen in 1944.