The Holocaust Educational Trust is saddened to hear of the passing of our dear friend Holocaust survivor Ruth Posner BEM. Karen Pollock CBE, Chief Executive 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.
Ruth Posner BEM 1929 – 2025
Ruth Posner was born in Warsaw in 1929 and lived with her parents Anna and Marian. The family moved to Radom, about 100km from Warsaw before the war. By the end of the Holocaust, Ruth’s parents, uncles, aunts and cousins were all murdered. Only Ruth and one of her aunts survived.
After the Germans invaded, the family was marched to the Radom Ghetto. Ruth’s father arranged work in a leather goods factory for Ruth and her aunt. The factory was located outside of town and helped keep Ruth away from the deportations from the ghetto. Once a week the workers were marched to the town baths and on one of these occasions Ruth and her aunt escaped to the non-Jewish side.
Ruth hid with a Catholic family and during the Warsaw Uprising in 1944, she was taken prisoner and sent to Germany. She was imprisoned as a Polish Catholic due to her false identity. Towards the end of the war, Ruth was put on a train to Essen. The Allies were bombing the town and many around Ruth were killed. She hid on a local farm until the end of the war.
After the war, Ruth came to the UK at the age of 16. Despite her experiences during the Holocaust, Ruth was determined to start a new life. Ruth eventually went to a college where dance and drama were the primary subjects. After three years, she continued her training with the London Contemporary Dance Theatre. She became a member and stayed with them for 18 years, performing and teaching.
Ruth married her husband Michael, who worked for UNICEF, and they moved to New York. Ruth went to Hunter College and then changed profession and studied acting, forging a successful career.
Ruth sometimes felt the guilt of survival, feeling that although she was lucky, others had also deserved the same luck and the same right to live.