Ruby Wax was left horrified to discover that her family was torn apart by the Holocaust – something her late parents had never revealed.
The actress and comedian, 64, appeared on Wednesday night’s episode of Who Do Think You Are? where she was told that her parents had fled Vienna at the time of the Nazi invasion after her father was imprisoned and tortured for his Jewish faith.
Ruby’s great aunt and uncle, Gabriele and Salomon Birer, stayed behind and attempted to escape but just as their documents came through the laws changed, forbidding Jews from travelling.
Until filming Ruby, who has three children with her TV producer husband Ed Bye, had no knowledge of her family’s tragic past, and admitted that she is angry with her parents for not telling her what happened before they died.
She said: ‘The parents I had when I was growing up do not relate at all to what I’m finding out… I just thought they were monsters.’
Acknowledging that her mother would have been ‘traumatised’ by what she had witnessed in Germany in the late 1930s, Ruby said she’d been left in the dark, adding ‘gimme a clue!’
The episode also saw Ruby, who has been frank about her own mental health struggles in the past, grow emotional as she traced her ancestry to the Czech Republic and learned of two relatives that had been sectioned in the same asylum.
In another scene the comedian – who viewers described as ‘courageous’ and ‘amazing’ – appeared on the verge of tears as she stroked the headstone of her grandfather.
Ruby Wax appeared in Wednesday night’s episode of Who Do You Think You Are? where she learned that her family had been ripped apart by the Holocaust
Ruby Wax’s father Edward Wachs (pictured right) was imprisoned for his Jewish faith and was tortured as an inmate, which he never told Ruby. When he was alive he told her that he had been an acrobatics coach in prison
American-born Ruby, who has lived in the UK since the 1970s, learned that the Birers were then taken to a ghetto and her uncle died within a week, while Gabriele’s fate remains unknown.
She travelled to Austria to find out what happened to her father Edward Wachs, who had told her he was an acrobatics coach, while actually imprisoned for being Jewish.
But after speaking to a historian she discovered that prisoners were being tortured with strenuous exercises, and if they refused to take part were beaten by the guards.
Conditions in the prison were so difficult that many inmates jumped out of the windows and committed suicide.
Edward spent two months in prison and was released under the condition that he left Austria.
He travelled to Berlin in Germany to marry her mother Bertha, before making his way to the US alone, spending the equivalent of £2,000 on travel.
Bertha remained in Germany until December 1938, where she witnessed the horrific aftermath of Kristallnacht, the period of destruction of Jewish businesses and homes.
Gabriele Goldmann (pictured bottom left) desperately tried to flee Vienna with her husband Salomon but the laws changed and they were trapped. They were taken to a ghetto in Germany where they lost their lives within days
Her mother Bertha was diagnosed with hysteria, which Ruby now believes was caused by witnessing Kristallnacht, the period of time when Nazis destroyed Jewish businesses and homes. Pictured: Ruby wih her parents in the 1950s (left) and Bertha in the 1930s (right)
Viewers applauded Ruby for her bravery looking into the past of her family and history of mental illness
Ruby was horrified to discover what her parents went through and expressed resentment that they never told her, as she believed they would have had a better relationship she understood them.
Her mother was diagnosed with hysteria, which Ruby now believes was caused by witnessing Kristallnacht.
She said: ‘The parents I had when I was growing up do not relate at all to what I’m finding out.
‘They are completely different people. I just thought they were monsters, now I get it that, she was 24, clearly she was traumatised but gimme a clue!’
‘She became like an ingrown toenail, a housewife that was so angry, but I couldn’t figure out if she was bitter about me. One conversation, if she would have broken down in tears and said ”This is what I left”, my heart would have bled for her.’
Ruby was angry with her parents for not telling her what kind of life they left behind when fleeing to America, where Ruby was born. Pictured: Ruby’s father Edward
Many viewers were emotional during the episode and praised Ruby for her incredible story
During the episode viewers took to Twitter to praise the actress – who was a familiar face on TV in the ’80s and ’90s and made two scene-stealing guest appearances on the sitcom Absolutely Fabulous – for her raw and honest look at her family’s history of mental illness.
‘Ruby Wax is an astonishing woman. Her honesty about mental health is inspiring enough but the way she’s talking this is amazing,’ said one.
Another said: ‘I’ve a lot of respect for Ruby Wax. She had a tough conditioning and she’s worked really hard on self acceptance. She’s human.’
However, others felt that Ruby’s seemingly unemotional response after finding out her family’s history was irksome.
‘I have to say Ruby Wax is coming across as terribly cold and rather self-centred on #WDYTYA More concerned by people’s appearance & wealth,’ said one.
‘Taking words right out of my mouth. Ignorant too. Not helped by plastic face telling no emotion,’ replied another.
Though Ruby’s parents managed to flee most of the holocaust’s atrocities the rest of her family weren’t so lucky.
Her great aunt and uncle Gabriele and Salomon Birer stayed in Vienna and continued to work at their dental practice before the laws changed so Jewish people were banned from running their own businesses.
Ruby had found letters from Gabriele and Salomon, known as Ella and Salo, pleading with her parents to help them escape from Vienna.
Upon learning about her family history Ruby became frustrated that her parents had never told her of her family’s history. Pictured: Ruby as a child with her parents
However some thought the presenter’s apparent lack of emotion made her appear cold – but she later explained was due to medication she takes
They needed an affidavit to assure the Nazis that they would financially provide for the couple, and the pair began to learn English to prepare for their move.
The affidavit took months to come and the couple suffered as laws against Jews became more and more strict, they had little food and remained inside their apartment for fear of getting attacked in the street.
Ruby says she never expected that her family wouldn’t have been able to flee before the Nazis got to them
When the affidavit arrived it was tragically too late, another law change meant it was missing additional information. The US consulate closed shortly after, meaning the couple were trapped.
In 1942, when Ella was 65 and Salo was 69, they were sent to Theresienstadt with many other elderly Jewish people.
Tragically Salo lived for just a week as he was murdered in Theresienstadt and Ella’s fate is unknown, though her records say she too was murdered.
There was no running water or electric in the ghetto and some 33,00 died of disease and starvation.
Many of the ghetto’s surviving residents were taken to Auschwitz, where they were gassed to death on arrival.
Ruby was astounded by the revelation, saying: ‘I can’t believe somebody in my family was murdered! I just thought my family were so smart that they’d get out but the fact that she was older.
‘What’s good is that I’m on medication so I don’t feel things as deeply as maybe somebody else would.
‘Now it’s 20 years I’ve been on medication so I’m really happy about that because this would have flipped me out.’
Who Do You Think You Are? continues next Wednesday at 8pm on BBC One.