Holocaust survivor Lily Ebert passes at 100

Ebert’s accounts on TikTok and other online platforms promoting Holocaust education have more than two million followers.

By JNS

Auschwitz survivor turned social media influencer and author Lily Ebert has died in London at the age of 100, her family announced on Wednesday.

Ebert “passed away of old age early this morning, at home surrounded by family,” the family said. She is survived by a daughter and a son, 10 grandchildren, 38 great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandson.

Lily Ebert — 1923-2024.

A light that shone so brightly has today gone dark. pic.twitter.com/A5bymeiFTG

— Dov Forman (@DovForman) October 9, 2024

In July 1944, Ebert, aged 20, and her entire family were deported from Hungary to the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp. Her mother, younger sister and brother were all murdered in the gas chambers.

Four months after arriving at Auschwitz, Ebert and two of her sisters were transferred and put to work in a German munitions factory near Leipzig, where they remained until liberation by the U.S. Army in 1945.

After World War II, Ebert moved with her surviving two sisters to Switzerland to rebuild her life. In 1953, she was reunited with her older brother, who also survived the Nazi persecution, and the family moved to Israel.

In 1967, Lily and her husband immigrated to the United Kingdom. “Lily’s story has touched hundreds of millions worldwide,” the family said on Wednesday.

“Her life-affirming intergenerational memoir, Lily’s Promise, co-authored with her great-grandson Dov Forman, is a reminder of the resilience of the human spirit and the dangers of unchecked hatred. Lily taught the power of tolerance and faith, the importance of speaking out, and the need to stand against prejudice.”

In recent years, Ebert’s accounts on TikTok and other online platforms gained more than two million followers, which she used to educate about the horrors of the Holocaust and speak about her experiences.

Scott Saunders, the chairman of March of the Living U.K., who also serves as its global CEO, stated:

“Her remarkable partnership with her great-grandson Dov Forman on social media, especially through their TikTok videos, reached younger generations and educated them about the horrors of Auschwitz and the strength of the human spirit.

“Ebert’s work has left an indelible mark on Holocaust education, and March of the Living will continue to carry her message of resilience and hope, passing the torch of memory and responsibility forward,” he said.

In February, Ebert met with Kindertransport survivor Walter Bingham, who was born in Germany and lives in Jerusalem, at her London home on the heels of International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

“We have to live, every day, with the pain of what we went through,” Ebert explained at the time. “We share that understanding, and it is for that reason that meeting the inspirational Walter was so special.”

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