Following the untimely and early death of her father, Paula moved to Berlin together with her mother and her older sister.
According to Nazi ideology, the Montessori method was mainly propagated by "Jewish elements" and contributed to selfish and anti-national behavior.
As the Nazis tightened the grip on Jewish life in Berlin and Germany, conditions at the Herzl School deteriorated rapidly.
Following the Kristallnacht of November 1938, Leo Baeck offered Paula Fürst the position of head of all Jewish schools in Germany which she accepted.
She also accompanied many children of the Kindertransport to London but refused to stay abroad although life for Jews in Germany had become unbearable and the beginning of World War II was imminent.