Braun is proud to say that despite the antisemitism she experienced, she has never resented being Jewish. Born in 1914 in Vienna, she characterizes her affiliation with Judaism as being non-traditional. She, her parents, and four siblings celebrated the high holidays and were not politically active. Although Braun experienced antisemitism (such as stone throwing) she became accustomed to it.

Braun was a 24-year-old unmarried woman when the war broke out. She realized that the war had started when people in the streets began to show their enthusiasm for Hitler. She managed to escape to England in 1938 before the German annexation. She spent the wars years in England working as a maid. She was not a part of the Jewish community during her stay in England and her two sisters later converted to Judaism. Braun explains in the interview the difficulty she experienced in fleeing to England.