The letter, the newspaper subscription, the last interview. The death of twins Ellen and Alice Kessler who died together at the age of 89 by assisted suicide, in Germany the Bavarian newspaper to which the two dancers and singers were particularly close monopolized the attention of the Abendzeitung in particular. In its online edition, the newspaper highlights the emotional relationship built with the two special subscribers over decades. And in an article today he offers elements that help to understand the meticulousness and rationality of the choices of the two sisters.
The last letter
“Shortly before her death, Alice Kessler canceled her subscription to the Abendzeitung. On Monday morning (November 17), the postman delivered a letter to the Abendzeitung. In the letter, Alice canceled the twins’ joint subscription to the newspaper after decades. Initially she typed the date November 30 into the computer, then corrected the date by hand with a ballpoint pen: 11.17.2025”, we read on the Abendzeitung. “Underneath was his autograph, perhaps the last of his life. With a long and decisive underlining, as vibrant as the lives of the twin protagonists. A final act.”
In the media, there is also reference to gifts that the twins would have sent in the last few hours to people they were close to. In at least one case, the gift would have been accompanied by the request to open the package after the date of November 17, the one chosen by the sisters to end their lives.
The newspaper recalls that “at the gala for the 70th anniversary of the Abendzeitung” the Kessler twins “performed. Alice even did the splits on the stage of the sold-out Deutsches Theater. At 81 years old!”, so only 8 years ago. The newspaper offers elements that can help understand the picture. In recent years, “Ellen had undergone surgeries and both suffered from pain, despite decades of discipline and exercise into old age. The topic of aging was not at all a taboo for them. Self-determination until death: this was their belief.”
In August 2024, Ellen’s words: “They implanted a pacemaker and then I started treating urinary tract infections. The pills almost make me depressed, they bring me down. I’ve never experienced such mood swings before.”
Abendzeitung recalls that the sisters “spoke openly about the inability to understand” the situation of “other (important) people” who “became helpless in their old age and needed care. One ultimately futile operation after another, isolation with an IV or in a nursing home: this was not an option for the Kesslers. It was simply a horrible prospect to be avoided at all costs.”