Alice and Ellen Kessler, the twin sisters who captivated audiences across postwar Europe with their synchronized performances on Italian television, have died at 89.

Authorities confirmed the deaths on Monday, after responding to a call at the sisters’ home in Grünwald, Germany, where they lived in adjoining flats separated by a sliding wall, Parade reports. Officials said no foul play was suspected.

According to German daily Bild , the twins chose medically assisted suicide, which is legal in Germany under strict rules requiring individuals to make the decision of their own free will.

Born in 1936 in Nerchau, the Kessler twins began performing as children with the Leipzig Opera ballet, Parade notes. After leaving East Germany for Düsseldorf in 1952, they toured Europe and the Unite

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