About his parents, Manef Biran wrote in 1989: "They thought of themselves first and foremost as Germans, were integrated in Hechingen. ... Our Jewishness was practiced in a liberal, flexible way."  "At home I was taught that as a Jew I must not show any vulnerability, must avoid mistakes."

The Catholic environment made a strong impression on him, "My early upbringing owed a lot to Christianity, from our Protestant nanny to ... the Catholic mothers of my friends."  "The holidays, liturgical dress, organ music, ... Processions I came in contact with but was denied participation in, created envy."  "I felt my Jewishness as a stigma that I would have liked to get rid of."