As manager of Unity Theatre he staged the first professional British production of a Brecht play, The Visions of Simone Machard.

In March 1932, when Heinz was nine years old, his adoptive father Max Lowenstein committed suicide following the collapse of his business.

[citation needed] In August 1938 Julius Streicher, editor of Der Stürmer, ordered the large Nuremberg Reform Synagogue torn down.

Although Heinz was born in Germany and adopted by native German Jews, his real father had emigrated from Poland.

In July 1939 the MP Josiah Wedgwood, who dedicated his life to saving Jews, asked a parliamentary question directed at the Home Secretary:"Colonel Wedgwood asked the Home Secretary whether he will authorise a visa to Frau Betty Loewenstein, [sic] and her son, Heinz, Nurenberg, guarantee and application for whom was made by Walter Block, Alsager, Stoke-on-Trent, on 10th May, in view of the fact that the boy, aged 16 years, is under expulsion orders for 10th July?

"[8]As a result of this question Heinz and his mother, Betty (maiden name Ehrlich) were granted transit visas to pass through England and join his uncles, who had migrated to the United States.

He eventually joined a home for Jewish orphans run by exiles from the German Communist Party where he organized weekly plays.

Heinz worked in a variety of low-paid jobs, including as a rabbit skinner and a waiter, saving enough money to attend the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts (RADA) in London.

[12] Heinz Bernard's biological mother was one of 237 Jews deported from Frankfurt to Kalevi-Liiva in Estonia in September 1942 on transport DA 406.

[14][15] Other world premieres included Arthur Adamov's "The Scavengers" and the first ever British production of an Israeli play, "The Ganze Macher" by Ephraim Kishon (1958).

[17] In 1962, Bernard organized an appeal to raise money for a new theatre, sponsors included Alec Guinness, John Osborne and a leaflet was signed by Alfie Bass and Paul Robeson.

In the late 1960s he played the role of the Rabbi in the West End production of Fiddler on the Roof (at Her Majesty's Theatre).

[10] From 1971 to 1981, Bernard lived in Israel, where he worked at the National Theatre Habima[19] and appeared in the educational TV series, Here We Are and Neighbours.