After Manfred had spent four years at protestant  elementary school in Hechingen, he attended the Gymnasium from 1931.

He described his school years up to then as nice. His teachers were even-handed and friendly. At the Gymnasium, Manfred Bernstein, Martin Eppstein and Heinz Schwab were the only Jewish boys. From 1934 on, the non-Jewish students became more and more organized in the Hitler Youth. After Martin Eppstein and Heinz Schwab left the school, Manfred remained as the only Jewish student.

As the son of a front-line fighter, he still had the right to stay in school. "But the increasingly frequent threats of violence from the HJ [Hitler Youth] left me no choice but to finish compulsory schooling - another year - at the protestant elementary school."