Helmut Rehbein was born in
Potsdam,
Germany, in 1913. He spent his youth in Berlin after moving there in 1919. Rehbein married Renate Jaeger, a solicitor's daughter. Jaeger's mother was Jewish, so in order to marry they had to flee Germany separately and meet in London. Rehbein went through Switzerland. They were married in a civil ceremony on 14 February 1939 at Edmonton, London, and then in St George's Lutheran Church, Whitechapel. Rehbein moved to New Zealand with his wife in 1939, just prior to the outbreak of war, with assistance from the Presbyterian Church. The couple changed their surname to Rex in 1946 as an effort to better integrate into their new life in New Zealand. == Career ==