Helnut Ernst Huelsbergen was born 14 February 1929 in KrefeldLinn, Germany, to Anna te Kloot and Ernst Huelsbergen. In 1949 he spent an academic year at Bethel College in Newton, Kansas through an exchange program of the Mennonite Central Committee, and received his doctorate in English from the University of Cologne in 1956.

Huelsbergen was a German Professor at the University of Kansas from 1958-1994; he was also the Chair of the German Department for 10 years. His research interests included German Baroque literature (particularly the poet Andreas Gryphius), German mysticism, and 19th century American neologisms.

In 1964, Hulesbergen set the groundwork for the Summer Language Institute study abroad program for students. This program helped establish a sister-city relationship between the German community of Eutin and Lawrence in 1966. Additionally, he served at one time as director of the Max Kade Center for German-American Studies at KU and as editor of its Yearbook of German-American Studies; this center promotes the study of the language, history, and culture of German-speaking immigrants and their contributions to society in the United States.

In 1962 Huelsbergen married Ursula Arnold. Together they had 3 children: Lorenz, Anselm, and Benjamin. Helmut E. Huelsbergen passed away on January 5, 2017.