Tributes pour in for Ruth Posner and husband after death at Swiss suicide clinic

Tributes have poured in for actress and Holocaust survivor Ruth Posner and her husband, Michael, after they died at a Swiss suicide clinic. The couple, residents of Belsize Park in north London, informed family and friends in an email that they had taken their own lives together, following almost 75 years of marriage. Neither had a terminal illness, and the decision was described as mutual and without outside pressure.

Posner, who was awarded the British Empire Medal in 2022 for services to Holocaust education, survived the Radom Ghetto, forced labour, and life in hiding under a false identity. After the war, she and her aunt were among the last members of their families to survive. Arriving in the United Kingdom at 16, she did not speak English but soon trained as a dancer and studied theatre arts in New York before gaining membership with the Royal Shakespeare Company. Her career spanned film and television, including Leon the Pig Farmer, Love Hurts, Casualty, The Ruth Rendell Mysteries, and Count Arthur Strong. She married her British husband Michael in 1950, and the pair traveled the world thanks to his work as a chemist for Unilever and UNICEF. They were described by friends as devoted partners who shared a passion for the arts and for educating others about the past. Their son, Jeremy, died at 37 during his recovery from heroin addiction. They are survived by a grandson.

Campaign Against Antisemitism said it was heartbroken to learn of the passing of Ruth Posner, a Holocaust survivor and educator, and her husband Michael, and noted that tributes had poured in from the theatre and education communities. Karen Pollock CBE, chief executive of the Holocaust Educational Trust, called Posner an extraordinary woman who survived the Radom Ghetto and Nazi oppression and later dedicated herself to ensuring younger generations understood the lessons of the Holocaust. Pollock recalled that Posner spoke to many young people across the UK, urging leaders of tomorrow to learn from the past and to stand against antisemitism.

Posner’s family and friends conveyed that she was frail in later life and that Michael had macular degeneration and reduced hearing, though they remained intellectually engaged. A friend, Sonja Linden, artistic director and playwright who had known the couple for about 30 years, described Posner as frail but mentally sharp and said they had the vitality to continue contributing to the arts. Linden noted that Posner’s flat had long been filled with art and books, reflecting a life lived with curiosity and purpose. Medical and ethical discussions around assisted dying in Switzerland have been ongoing, and Zurich’s Dignitas clinic reportedly would not assist the couple because they did not present a doctor’s note indicating a prognosis of six months or less. Instead, the couple traveled to the Pegasos clinic near Basel.

Posner and Michael’s lives intersected with broader conversations about Holocaust memory, education, and the role of artists in bearing witness. Through her teaching and performances, Posner sought to keep alive the stories of those who perished and those who survived, hoping to shape future generations’ understanding of history. Her work with the Holocaust Educational Trust and other organizations left a lasting imprint on the communities she touched. Her family asked for privacy as they processed the loss, while colleagues and fans remembered a performer who brought warmth, intellect, and a steadfast commitment to truth to the stage and classroom.

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