 Hoppe was born the son of a master baker in Ellrich, Thuringia, Germany.After his apprenticeship as a baker, he worked from 1945 to 1948 as a coach driver.Hoppe moved to Erfurt where he began formal training as an actor at the Staatliches Konservatorium from 1949 to 1951, during which time he supported himself by working as an animal handler at the Zircus Aeros.