(RepublicanNews.org) – Famous German-American therapist and expert on human sexuality, Ruth Westheimer, died last week after a long, successful career.
On Friday, July 12, Westheimer died at the age of 96 at her residence in New York City. Her publicist confirmed the news to reporters the following day. Friends and family surrounded her at the time of her death.
Westheimer was born June 4, 1928, in Germany to a Jewish family at the time Adolf Hitler was coming to power. When she was 10, her parents sent her away to Switzerland to attend school and to protect her from the Nazis; they stayed behind to care for her grandmother and later perished in the concentration camps during World War II. She eventually left Switzerland and moved to Mandatory Palestine at the time the region that became Israel was controlled by Britain.
At 17 years old and standing 4 feet 7 inches, Westheimer joined the Haganah, which later became the Israel Defense Forces. She went through training to become a sniper. During Israel’s War of Independence, she was wounded by an exploding mortar shell on June 4, 1948, her 20th birthday. Westheimer nearly lost both of her feet during the incident and moved to Paris two years later where she attended Sorbonne and studied psychology before immigrating to the US in 1956.
In America, Westheimer studied sociology at the New School and then received a Ph.D in 1970 from Teachers College at Columbia University at 42. She went on to teach at several universities and as a private therapist until she started to become a household name in 1980 for her radio show “Sexually Speaking.”
Westheimer spoke frankly about human sexuality and relationships, generally considered a taboo subject, and attracted a large audience, particularly among women. She also made numerous television appearances and authored several books.
Reflecting on her career in a 2019 interview with Vulture, Westheimer said she taught women through her show that they had to take “responsibility for their sexual satisfaction,” and encouraged a healthy intimate life.
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