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How Famous Sex Therapist Doctor Ruth Used To Be A Sniper In The Military
A cultural icon made a dramatic career change from when she was a young woman
Dr. Ruth Westheimer has been one of the most recognizable people in the world for decades. The 4'7" sex therapist with the thick accent has dispensed advice, appeared on television and written books to the present, despite now being 94 years old. Her journey to becoming a global icon was a long one, which includes her origins as a Holocaust survivor and once serving as a skilled sniper in the military.
Westheimer was born Karola Ruth Siegel in 1928 in Wiesenfeld, Germany. Her parents were Orthodox Jewish, and sadly both lost their lives in concentration camps during the mass genocide of the Holocaust. Fortunately, they sent their daughter away to Switzerland before they were imprisoned, thus saving her life.
Her father was murdered early on in the camps. She wrote her mother and grandmother regularly until responses from them suddenly ceased. Details of their demise aren’t known, but it is a near certainty that they were also killed by the Nazis.
At the age of 16, the orphaned teenager moved to Israel and soon joined up with Haganah, a covert paramilitary organization. Despite her diminutive size, she became a useful…
