Dr Kenneth Wolfe

Dr Kenneth Wolfe was born into a dislocated family in wartime Britain. His asylum-seeking Berlin-born parents: father a Jew, who invented the ‘self-seal’ envelope; mother, an Aryan professional pianist, had fled to Britain. Here they were safe and allowed to marry. Yet the tragedy that consumed Dr Wolfe's grandparents - they had remained in Germany and were killed by the Nazis in September 1941 - affected his parents for the rest of their lives.  Their marriage became a disaster for them and their unwanted child, this author. 

Wolfe’s struggle to overcome the travails of dysfunctional relationships and lack of formal education caused him to reach out for a better life. Without any qualifications and leaving school at 16 his future was rescued by a church community that became family, that set him on a path to become a university lecturer, teacher and scholar committed to closing the chasm between the believer and scholar with enhanced historical understanding.

His research led him to publish the book ‘The Churches and the BBC, The Politics of Broadcast Religion’ to critical acclaim. It traces the rise in acclaimed broadcasting policy against the background of the decline of belief and  Church attendance. He was religious affairs adviser to the Independent Television Authority and Thames TV.

Dr Wolfe’s book, ‘A Holocaust Legacy’ was published by Chiselbury on 1 October 2023. It is now available for purchase here.