Elizabeth Clare Prophet was born Elizabeth Clare Wulf at Monmouth Memorial Hospital in Long Branch, New Jersey on April 8, 1939, to Hans and Fridy Wulf. She grew up with her family in Red Bank, New Jersey during the Second World War. She describes her earliest childhood as idyllic. However, problems arose, such as the detention of her father as a suspected German spy in 1942. Upon his release he inspired her to help others who may also suffer because of their nationality, race, or religion. After seeing the horrors of the Holocaust in media and print, she became convinced of the reality of absolute evil in the world. This played a main role in her deciding to major in political science in her studies.