The person (German) who was to become Ven. Nayanapoinika Maha Thera (1901-1994) was born in Hanau, Germany on July 21, 1901 as Siegmund Feniger, the only child of a Jewish family. In 1922, he moved with his parents to Berlin, where he met with other German Buddhists and also had access to Buddhist literature in German language. He first came across the writings of Ven. Nyanatiloka Thera (1878-1957), the former German violin virtuoso Anton Gueth, which had already been published in Germany. Young Siegmund had learned Ven.