Lily Ebert

Lily Ebert BEM (born 29 December 1923) is a Hungarian-born Holocaust survivor, living in London.

Lily Ebert

BEM
Ebert with her greatgrandson Dov Forman in 2021
Born (1923-12-29) 29 December 1923
Bonyhád, Hungary

Personal life

Ebert was born in Bonyhád, Hungary. She was the eldest daughter in a family of six children.[1]

The Holocaust

The Nazis invaded Hungary in March 1944, and, in July 1944, when Ebert was 20 years old, she along with her mother, younger brother and three sisters were deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau.[1] Ebert's mother Nina, younger brother Bela, and younger sister Berta were immediately sent to the gas chambers, whilst Ebert and her two other sisters, Renee and Piri, were selected for work in the camp.[1]

Four months after arriving in the camp, Ebert and her two sisters were transferred to a munitions factory near Leipzig, where they worked until liberation by Allied forces from the Death March in 1945.[1]

Post-Holocaust

After she was liberated, Ebert travelled with her surviving sisters to Switzerland in order to start rebuilding their life. In 1953 Ebert was reunited with her other brother, who had also survived the Nazi camp and slave-labour system. The family emigrated to Israel where she married and had three children, before settling in London in 1967.[2] Ebert now has 10 grandchildren and 35 great grandchildren.[3]

In 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic, with her great grandson Dov Forman, Ebert co-authored The Sunday Times Best-Seller Lily's Promise: How I Survived Auschwitz and Found the Strength to Live, which includes a foreword by Prince Charles.[4] Lily's Promise is a three-time Sunday Times Best-Seller and was the Waterstones best history book of 2021.

Also in 2021, Ebert and Forman used the TikTok video sharing platform, gaining more than a million followers for clips in which Ebert answers people's questions about surviving the Holocaust, when she was a prisoner at Auschwitz concentration camp.[5] Ebert and Forman's account has over 1.7 million followers, it has received over 25 million ‘likes’ and their top 5 most popular videos have collectively been viewed by over 50 million people.[6]

Ebert and Forman have collaborated with various departments of the UK Government (including the Department for Education, the Foreign Office, the Home Office and the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities) and in November 2020, they spoke at the UK Parliament in favour of the UK Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre.[7] Ebert and Forman have also appeared on international radio and television, giving interviews to over 180 news outlets in more than 35 countries.

Ebert's portrait was one of seven commissioned by Prince Charles for the Royal Collection to remember survivors of the holocaust and as a tribute for the survivors who made their life in Britain. When the portraits were released in the Queen's Gallery at Buckingham Palace Ebert told Charles "Meeting you, it is for everyone who lost their lives." Charles touched her shoulder and replied: "But it is a greater privilege for me.".[8]

Awards

In the 2016 New Year Honours, Ebert was awarded the British Empire Medal (BEM) for services to Holocaust education and awareness.[9]

Ebert's great grandson Dov Forman received the Points of Light award from the UK Prime Minister at 10 Downing Street, in November 2021, in recognition of exceptional services to Holocaust education.[10][11]

Ebert and Forman were awarded with the community award, from Andrew Neil, at the Jewish Care and Topland business lunch in March 2022, at the Grosvenor House Hotel.[12]

In April 2022, Ebert was awarded the Knight’s Cross of the Order of Merit of Hungary, one of Hungary's highest national honours, by Ambassador Ferenc Kumin of Hungary to the United Kingdom, on behalf of the Hungarian government.[13][14]

References
  1. "Lily Ebert BEM". het.org.uk. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
  2. "'Auschwitz was hell on earth. We must never forget its horrors'". standard.co.uk. 2020. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
  3. Rosa, Joanne. "Auschwitz survivor and great-grandson teach TikTok about realities of Holocaust". ABC News. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  4. "We must keep memories of the Holocaust alive". The Telegraph. 27 August 2021.
  5. "Nonagenarian TikTok star shares Ausschwitz experiences". dw.com. 2021. Archived from the original on 14 August 2021. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
  6. "A 98-year-old Holocaust survivor built a massive TikTok following to combat deniers: 'It happened'". Washington Post. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  7. "Lily Ebert & Dov Forman speech". Westminster.gov.uk. UK Government. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  8. "Holocaust Memorial Day: Portraits of last remaining UK survivors unveiled". BBC News. 27 January 2022. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
  9. "Central Chancery of the Orders of Knighthood". thegazette.co.uk. 2015. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
  10. "Lily's Promise; Dov Forman". Points Of Light. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  11. "Prime Minister honours teen who co-wrote great-grandmother's Auschwitz memoir". Jewish News UK. 1 December 2021. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  12. Care, Jewish. "JEWISH CARE HOSTS 34TH TOPLAND GROUP BUSINESS LUNCH". Jewish Care. Jewish Care website. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
  13. "Kitüntetést kapott a magyar állammtól a 98 éves holokauszttúlélő Lily Ebert – videó". Blikk-információ. 27 April 2022. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
  14. Ford, Lily (27 April 2022). "Holocaust survivor, 98, 'so touched' to receive Hungarian national honour". Evening Standard. PA. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
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