norman dyhrenfurth was born in germany, the son of himalayan explorers günter oskar dyhrenfurth and hettie dyhrenfurth. his mother was of half jewish ancestry. after the nazis came to power, they emigrated, first to austria in 1933, then two years later to switzerland, where they became citizens. in 1936, dyhrenfurth's parents were awarded a gold medal for alpinism at the 1936 summer olympics in berlin. he emigrated to the united states in 1937. his service in the united states army enabled him to gain joint u.s.-swiss citizenship. he was the founder of the motion picture division of the department of theater arts at ucla, but resigned that position in 1952. in 1954, he was a fulbright scholar in italy.