A Holocaust survivor and actress was coerced into ending her life at a Swiss clinic by her ‘dominant’ husband who died alongside her, a friend of the British couple has claimed.
Family and friends of Ruth Posner, 96 and her husband Michael, 97, who lived in Belsize Park, north London, were informed of the couple’s intentions by email earlier this week.
Neither of the pair had terminal illness, but they decided they did not want to be apart after being married for nearly 75 years.
In the message sent to their loved ones on Tuesday, which coincided with the Jewish New Year, the couple stated the decision to end their lives at the assisted death clinic Pegasos, near Basel, was ‘mutual and without any outside pressure’.
However playwright and theatre director Julia Pascal, a close friend of the couple, described Mr Posner as ’emotionally controlling’ and believes his Polish-born wife went along with the plan because she was ‘totally reliant’ on him.
Speaking to The Times, the 75-year-old said she had heard the couple openly discussing the possibility of ending their lives at a Swiss clinic over the last two years – and had sent emails pleading with the couple not to kill themselves.
She said: ‘I tried to talk Ruth out of it, but I felt it was too far gone, that she was totally under his control.’
As for their final message, Pascal said: ‘Ruth sent the email, but I believe Michael would have dictated it to her.’
Holocaust survivor Ruth Posner, 96, informed family and friends by email on Tuesday that she had ended her life at Swiss clinic Pegasos, near Basel, alongside her husband
Playwright Julia Pascal, a close friend of the couple, said she believed Ruth Posner was coerced into ending her life by her ‘dominant’ husband, Michael, who died alongside her
Mr Posner was described by Pascal as ’emotionally controlling’ and believes his Polish-born wife went along with the plan because she was ‘totally reliant’ on him
Pascal added that she was ‘totally reliant’ on her husband for everything from cooking meals to paying the bills and believes that the decision to end their lives was not one ‘of her own’.
‘She would have said “it was all my decision”, but really he was making it for her,’ Pascal said.
Mrs Posner was a Jewish child survivor of the Holocaust, having fled the Warsaw ghetto with her aunt during the Second World War.
She lived through the remainder of the war by adopting a false identity and pretending to be a young Polish Catholic girl named Irena Slabowska.
The rest of her family were tragically killed at Treblinka extermination camp.
On her arrival in the UK aged 16, Ms Posner did not speak any English, but began training as a dancer and enrolled at the London Contemporary Dance Theatre.
She later started acting school, studying theatre arts at Hunter College in New York before gaining membership at the Royal Shakespeare Company.
The Holocaust survivor went on to become a star of both the film and TV worlds, receiving acclaim for roles in movies Leon The Pig Farmer and Love Hurts.
Tributes poured in for Ruth Posner, who starred in the film Leon The Pig Farmer, as well as Love Hurts, Casualty and The Ruth Rendell Mysteries among other TV shows
She also featured on the small screen in Casualty, The Ruth Rendell Mysteries and a string of other top shows.
Ms Posner acted for 80 years and recently played Polish princess Katya in BBC comedy series Count Arthur Strong.
In 1950, she married her British husband Michael, a chemist for Unilever and Unicef.
Pascal first met them in 1990, with Mrs Posner going on to appear in a number of her plays. This included Theresa, a play based on the true-life story of a Jewish woman living in Guernsey who was deported to Auschwitz during the island’s Nazi occupation.
Pascal revealed she was the first person Mrs Posner opened up to about her experience during the Holocaust and she had encouraged her friend to tell others.
Mrs Posner listened to that advice and became a prominent public speaker. She was awarded a British Empire Medal for her services to Holocaust education in 2022.
She and her husband endured tragedy in later life when their son Jeremy died aged 37 during his recovery from heroin addiction.
On her arrival in the UK aged 16, Ms Posner did not speak any English but soon started training as a dancer before turning to acting
Ms Posner pictured as a young girl with her father. She escape the Warsaw ghetto and posed as a Catholic school student for the remainder of the Second World War
The couple are survived by their grandson, Zac.
In the full message sent to their friends and family, the couple wrote: ‘So sorry not to have mentioned it but when you receive this email we will have “shuffled off this mortal coil”.
‘The decision was mutual and without any outside pressure. We had lived a long life and together for almost 75 years.
‘There came a point when failing senses, of sight and hearing and lack of energy was not living but existing that no care would improve.
‘We had an interesting and varied life and except for the sorrow of losing Jeremy, our son. We enjoyed our time together, we tried not to regret the past, live in the present and not to expect too much from the future.
‘Much love Ruth & Mike.’
Following news of their deaths, Sonja Linden, an artistic director and playwright who was friends with the pair for 30 years, told The Times: ‘We did not know they had actually gone until we received the email, which is sad as we wanted to say goodbye.
‘They had such a lovely flat packed with art and books and I can’t imagine them not being there.’
She said Ms Posner had been ‘frail’ while her husband suffered from macular degeneration and poor hearing.
Ms Posner starred in TV show Count Arthur Strong with Rory Kinnear in 2013
Ms Linden, who worked alongside Ms Posner in the 2014 Holocaust play, Who Do We Think We Are?, insisted the pair remained ‘intellectually very well’ and had no severe illnesses.
Several communal organisations also paid tribute to the couple.
Chief Executive of The Holocaust Educational Trust, Karen Pollock CBE, said: ‘Ruth was an extraordinary woman. She survived the Radom Ghetto, slave labour and life in hiding under a false identity.
‘By the end of the war, Ruth and her aunt were the only surviving members of her family.
‘After a dazzling career in theatre and dance, Ruth decided to begin sharing her testimony as a response to rising levels of antisemitism in the UK. Although then in her eighties, she made it her mission to speak to as many young people as possible about her experiences during the Holocaust.
‘She hoped that the leaders of tomorrow would learn the lessons of the past. Ruth was one of a kind. Full of charisma and warmth, she left an impression on everyone she met. We will miss her.’
Campaign Against Antisemitism statement on Thursday said: ‘We are heartbroken to learn of the passing of Ruth Posner BEM, Holocaust survivor and educator, and her husband Michael.
‘Thank you, Ruth. You were an inspiration and a shining example of how to use one’s voice for good in this world. You will be greatly missed. May their memories be a blessing.’
For confidential support, call Samaritans on 116 123, visit samaritans.org or visit www.thecalmzone.net/get-support
