[1] Kronzucker was born in Munich, the son of an opera singer mother and a father who worked in the tourism industry.

He attended the Wittelsbacher-Gymnasium in Munich, graduating in 1954; during his time there, he founded and was the editor-in-chief of the school newspaper.

In 1980, his two daughters, Sabine and Susanne, along with a nephew, were kidnapped while on holiday in Barberino Val d'Elsa, Tuscany.

They were held captive for more than two months, being released after their families paid a ransom of 4.3 million Deutschmarks to the kidnappers.

[2][3] Susanne later went on to become a well-known journalist in her own right, for many years presenting news programme RTL aktuell, as deputy to anchor Peter Kloeppel.