A London Holocaust survivor and actress was coerced into ending her life at a Swiss clinic by her “dominant” husband who died alongside her, a close friend claimed.
Ruth Posner, 96, and Michael, 97, from Belsize Park, sent an email to loved ones on Tuesday stating their deaths in Pegasos, near Basel, was “mutual and without any outside pressure”.
However, playwright and theatre director Julia Pascal, 75, said that although they both openly discussed planning to take their own lives for two years, she felt that Mrs Posner had been emotionally controlled by her husband.
She told The Times: “Ruth was disempowered.
“He [Michael] was very dominant. I spoke to them and sent emails, saying ‘please don’t kill yourselves’.
“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, Mrs Pascal said: “Ruth sent the email, but I believe Michael would have dictated it to her.”
Mrs Posner was born to Jewish parents in Poland and most of her family were murdered in the Treblinka extermination camp.
She came to Britain aged 12 and trained as a dancer before becoming an actress.
Her roles included the Polish princess Katya in the BBC comedy series Count Arthur Strong.
She also featured in Casualty, The Ruth Rendell Mysteries and received acclaim for movies Leon The Pig Farmer and Love Hurts.
Mr Posner had attended Queen’s University in Belfast before qualifying as a chemist who worked for Unilever and Unicef.
The couple went on to live in various countries around the world before spending their later years in north London.
The Dignitas clinic in Zurich would not help the couple die because they did not have a doctor’s confirmation that they had less than six months to live so they went to Pegasos.
Karen Pollock, chief executive of Holocaust Educational Trust, 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, Mrs Posner and her aunt were the only surviving members of her family.
“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.”
The Campaign Against Antisemitism, said it was “heartbroken” to hear of the pair’s passing.
The group said Mrs Posner had spoken “publicly of her experiences during the Holocaust, educating future generations and never shying away from taking part in the fight against antisemitism”.
They described her as “an inspiration and a shining example of how to use one’s voice for good in this world”.
While a draft law is being considered at Westminster to legalise assisted dying in England and Wales, it would apply only to terminally ill adults with fewer than six months to live.
It is understood neither of the Posners were terminally ill.
Close friend Sonja Linden said while she was “very sad” at her friends’ deaths, she understood why they had taken the decision.
She added: “I completely endorse their decision but it was still weird to receive that email, written in her style. It was clearly from her and had been pre-written.”
Mrs Linden said Mrs Posner had been in favour of a law change.
She said: “She wouldn’t have had to make those arrangements, had to travel, she could’ve said goodbye more publicly.”
