Alice and Ellen Kessler: What Was the Cause of Death for the Singing Twins?

In 2024, Alice and Ellen Kessler told an Italian-language news site that they wanted to "die on the same day."

They were 88 at the time and celebrating their birthday in Germany, according to Corriere della Sera. The German twins reached the apex of their fame as entertainers in post-war Europe in the 1950s and 1960s, according to People.

"Our wish is to die together, on the same day. The idea that one of us will die first is very difficult to bear," they told the Italian site.

They fulfilled their wish and chose their death date, dying at age 89, it was revealed on November 18. What was the cause of death? Assisted suicide, reported Corriere della Sera.

"The two women had decided months ago that they wanted to die and that, on the agreed-upon date, a doctor and a lawyer from the association (German Society for Humane Dying) went to the twins' home to assist them," Corriere della Sera reported.

That article noted, "German-speaking countries, in particular, struggle with the use of the term ‘euthanasia’ due to its association with the Nazi regime’s mass murder programs in 20th-century Germany. Instead, alternative terms such as ‘active assisted dying’ or ‘killing on request’ are preferred."

The authors wrote, "the first German right-to-die organisation, the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Humanes Sterben (DGHS), was founded in 1980 with the aim of strengthening the right to a self-determined death and, above all, offering a means of assisted suicide."

That's the organization that confirmed the deaths of the Kessler twins, according to CNN. In English, it's called the German Society for Humane Dying.

According to CNN, the twins died in Grunewald, Germany. The method they chose for the assisted suicide was not clear.

The twins "contacted the DGHS, which provides access to lawyers and doctors, more than a year ago," CNN noted.