No more concise expression sums up his long, eventful history than this: He is a graduate of the University of Difficulty.
As Heidi Paul strikingly wrote of her father, giving a glimpse into his life:
Wolfgang Paul endured the terrors of World War II and was oppressed both under Hitlerism and Stalinism. In the Third Reich under Adolf Hitler, he belonged to those who because of their political position or Jewish descent were threatened by imprisonment, deportation or death. He lost some of his relatives through the tyrants. His father, a man of integrity, was forced into a Nazi punishment-labor-camp, working and living under terrible, inhumane conditions. (Limestone quarry and underground mining, which in itself under normal, socially good circumstances is hard enough, but tougher still under tyrants as bosses!)
Also, Wolfgang Paul was later informed, that he and his immediate family (parents: Walther and Anna Paul, and brother Helmut Paul) were registered by the Gestapo (the notorious Nazi Secret State Police) for execution by shooting, yet they became disabled to do it. As a "survivor", Paul is no less critical about the militaristic, capitalistic system of self-righteous Western style imperialism under the cloaks of so-called democracy and religionism, exposing them matter-of-factly by recalling gripping, most disgraceful occurrences, old and new, "...lest ye forget...", though without bitterness.
Paul came to the U.S.A. in 1956, has 4 children and 6 grandchildren. His beloved wife, Ursula, too, lived under the Stalinistic regime before coming to America. Their love story is also a saga in itself, related in some of Paul's books. She passed away in 1984. Like the author, she was a convinced Christian pacifist. Now, Paul still lives in his home in the mountains of N.E. Washington. Though an American citizen, he does not hesitate to openly express his convictions, when necessary, as many others do.
More details about his long, gripping history, not only in regard to educational/professional matters, but also concerning his rich, moving, thrilling experiences under various political systems, can be found e.g., in A Brief Insight Into the Life Of "A Single Author" WOLFGANG PAUL, and his 747-page illustrated documentary, called SURPRISES, SURPRISES, SURPRISES - Astonishing Occurrences I Myself Experienced or Found Out to My Own Surprise ...And You May Also Be Surprised! Always expect the unexpected... Be prepared and brace yourself!
As an engineer, Paul, beside purely technical matters, has always attached great value to the human side of engineering, for without man and God's favor, we would not have it.