Bernard Fall was born in Vienna, Austria to Jewish parents Leo Fall and Anna Seligman. His family migrated in 1938 when he was 12 to live in France when Austria was annexed by Nazi Germany. After France fell to Germany in 1940, his father Leo Fall aided the French Resistance. Leo Fall was captured, tortured and killed by the Gestapo. His mother was also captured and deported. She was never heard from again.