 She completed her studies in 1936 with distinctions in the Staatsexamen in mathematics and physics.She began studying for her Ph.D. at the University of Göttingen in 1937, under the supervision of Helmut Hasse.During this time Bernhard and Hanna corresponded anonymously through friends, and were only able to meet once, in Denmark in 1936 when Bernhard was travelling to the International Congress of Mathematicians in Oslo.