Lily's Promise: Holding on to Hope Through Auschwitz and Beyond--A Story for All Generations

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We can interpret ‘One Day’, the theme for Holocaust Memorial Day 2022, in a number of ways. For example, it can prompt us to think about one day in the future and how we can empower future generations to carry forward the lessons we must learn from the Holocaust and the testimony of survivors. Ebert had three children, and now has 10 grandchildren and 36 great-grandchildren. Forman, who is 18, described “the queen of our family” as being “very much involved in everyone’s life, wanting to know what everyone is getting up to.” The two were always close, even before Forman launched Ebert into social media stardom (her TikTok account has 1.9 million followers), so it made sense that he would help her keep a promise to tell the world what she had endured. “Words can barely describe what happens next,” Ebert writes of the journey to Auschwitz. “But words are all I have.” 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. [16] [17] Jews like Lily were only numbers to the Nazis. They consequently had a number inked on their arm. They used it as a strategy to make individuals feel less human. On her left forearm, Lily Engelman (her pre-marriage name) has the tattoo with the number A-10572.

year old Holocaust survivor Lily Ebert receives MBE from King Charles". www.thejc.com. The Jewish Chronicle. 2023 . Retrieved 1 February 2023.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] In fact, the book’s title, Lily’s Promise, refers to a promise Lily made to herself on Yom Kippur in 1944: if she survived the Nazis’ brutality, she would not only tell the world her story. But she would also ensure that whatever happened to them wouldn’t happen to anyone again. They lied to us. So many lies. We believed them because we wanted to believe them. We couldn’t contemplate not believing them.

A 98-year-old Holocaust survivor built a massive TikTok following to combat deniers: 'It happened' ". Washington Post . Retrieved 10 February 2022. Kitüntetést kapott a magyar állammtól a 98 éves holokauszttúlélő Lily Ebert – videó". Blikk-információ. 27 April 2022 . Retrieved 27 April 2022. Auschwitz was hell on earth. We must never forget its horrors' ". standard.co.uk. 2020 . Retrieved 14 August 2021.

Reading about the Holocaust reminds us that in this jungle of humanity, humans are the worst when it comes to inflicting pain on each other. These are a few quotes from the book, “Lily’s Promise,” that I found very appealing and would want to share with you. Ford, Lily (27 April 2022). "Holocaust survivor, 98, 'so touched' to receive Hungarian national honour". Evening Standard. PA . Retrieved 27 April 2022. Holocaust Memorial Day: Portraits of last remaining UK survivors unveiled". BBC News. 27 January 2022 . Retrieved 27 January 2022. 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. [6] 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. [7]

Ebert was born in Bonyhád, Hungary. She was the eldest daughter in a family of six children. [1] The Holocaust [ edit ] 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. [18] The pain and the trauma sometimes make a person silent. And in that phase, it’s really hard for that human to share his or her ordeal with anyone else. The same happened with Lily Ebert. That’s why she took her time to tell the world her story. 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 [ edit ]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. [8] Ebert and Forman have also appeared on international radio and television, giving interviews to over 180 news outlets in more than 35 countries. In 2023 the volume of Shemot (Hebrew name for the Book of Exodus) with the signature of Lily Ebert's younger brother Bela, who was murdered in Auschwitz, was found. It remained in Eberts’ hometown of Bonyhád for decades and someone whose father had an antique shop recognised the surname, bought the book, and got in touch with Lily's great-grandson Dov Forman. Dov Forman travelled to Bonyhád and brought the book to London. [11] Honours and awards [ edit ]

When Ebert was liberated in 1945, she met US soldier Hayman Shulman. With no paper to hand, he scribbled a message of hope onto a German banknote and gave it to Lily. In 2022, after a viral social media campaign, the family of Private Shulman were located, resulting in the meeting between Lily and the children of the soldier who liberated her. [10] You have to do your best to survive. Of course. But it’s hard to survive alone. Your best chance of life come from working together. Though the word “hope” is just a four-letter word, But its power and impact are just amazing. The same Mrs. Ebert mentioned it several times in her story. In fact, it’s the hope that keeps one alive when everything seems to be falling apart. Lily Ebert MBE BEM (born 29 December 1923) is a Hungarian-born Holocaust survivor, living in London.Frazer, Jenni. "Arise, Sir Ephraim! Chief Rabbi leads record-breaking honours list for the community". www.jewishnews.co.uk . Retrieved 31 December 2022. Egan, Elisabeth (26 May 2022). "Dov Forman Wants You to Know His Great-Grandmother's Holocaust Story". The New York Times . Retrieved 29 May 2022. The phrase “Together we stand, divided we fall.” This sentence best describes how Lily and her two sisters managed to survive the cruel Nazi concentration camps of Auschwitz-Birkenau and Buchenwald. Prime Minister honours teen who co-wrote great-grandmother's Auschwitz memoir". Jewish News UK. 1 December 2021 . Retrieved 10 February 2022. Nonagenarian TikTok star shares Ausschwitz experiences". dw.com. 2021. Archived from the original on 14 August 2021 . Retrieved 14 August 2021.