Auschwitz survivor, 99, honored by Britain’s King Charles

By Pol Allingham via SWNS

An Auschwitz survivor who "never thought she'd have another birthday" is thriving after turning 99 and began it by receiving an MBE from Britain's King Charles.

Lily Ebert celebrated her 99th birthday on Dec. 29 with her family, enjoying cake and a trip to the seaside - proving “the Nazis did not win.”

Two days later, she learned she would receive an MBE on the New Year Honors List.

Her life's mission has been based on a promise she made herself in the death camp - if, against all odds, she survived, she would tell the truth of what happened for herself and those who did not survive.

With the help of her 19-year-old great-grandson Dov Forman, the energetic woman has a TikTok account with nearly two million followers and published a New York Times and Sunday Times bestseller.

She and Dov co-authored "Lily’s Promise: How I Survived Auschwitz and Found the Strength to Live," which details her childhood in Hungary, the death of her mother and two youngest siblings in Auschwitz Birkenau, and what it was like surviving the concentration camp.

King Charles III wrote the foreword.

Lily and Dov's shared TikTok account, "Lily Ebert & Dov Forman" provides another outlet for her to heroically inform the world of the Nazis’ crimes during the Holocaust.

In one, she recounts the dehumanization of the guards tattooing her number on her arm.

Speaking from a sunny garden, she said: "My number is A-10572, that is what I was. I was not my name, we were not humans, we were only a number."

"Most women had no periods in the camp because our bodies were so weak that we could not get our period.

"It was not normal life in the camp, nothing was normal, the food was not normal, the sleeping was not sleeping. It was an artificial life."

Among the educational videos are others celebrating her phenomenal accomplishments, one of which is turning 99.

Another is the number of loved ones she has, and Dov described her as the “Queen of the family."

Lily gave birth to two daughters, one of whom has since died, and a son, and they gave her 10 grandchildren.

Dov is one of her 36 great-grandchildren - she is reportedly very close with each.

In a viral birthday tweet featuring a picture of Lily grinning on Bournemouth beach, Dov quoted his great-grandmother saying: "I never thought I would survive Auschwitz and have another birthday.

"At 99, I celebrate to show that the Nazis did not win."

Lily was in awe of the public’s response to the post, which received almost 200,000 likes and over 10,000 comments.

In addition to the litany of social media well-wishes, Lily received around 3,000 emails to an account set up for the day.

Dov makes sure the big celebrations keep coming - last year, 5,000 cards came through the letterbox with kind words from members of the royal family, the prime minister, celebrities, as well as members of the public.

Beyond the birthday, Lily has been overawed by people’s general response to her life story.

Dov said: “When it comes to these special milestones like birthdays, I always try and do something special because, as my great-grandmother said, she never thought she would celebrate another birthday.

“Now she does surrounded by 10 grandchildren and 36 great-grandchildren.

“It’s really so incredible to see that she not only survived but she thrived, she really is the Queen of the family.

“We’re all incredibly close, the whole family, she really is close with every single child, grandchild and great-grandchild.

“I think she has an incredible bond with every single one of us and there’s so much you can learn from Holocaust survivors in general, and also my great-grandmother.

“There’s so much that I’ve learned from and gained from her.”

Dov has become particularly close with his great-grandmother over the past two years by writing the book together about her life.

On Dec. 29 1923, Lily was born in Bonyhád, a small, suburban village in Hungary, as the eldest of six siblings.

There she had a happy childhood until 1942.

That year - when she was 20 - her father died. Shortly after, she, her mother, her younger brother, and three younger sisters were deported to Auschwitz.

The eldest of the younger brothers was deported to a slave labor camp. They arrived on July 9 that year on one of the last transports from Hungary.

Lily’s mother, younger brother, and younger sister were taken straight to the gas chambers and murdered.

She and two of her other sisters were taken to slave labor inside Auschwitz Birkenau.

For four months, they were seamstresses before being taken to an ammunition factory on October 1944.

They would stay there until they were taken on a death march in April 1945 and eventually liberated by American soldiers.

Once the war ended she stayed in Germany for a few months, then traveled to Switzerland and to Israel in 1946, where she resided for over two decades.

In 1967 she moved to the UK, and Dov said she often praises the UK because they: “Really welcomed her with open arms. And I know many other Holocaust survivors feel the same.”

Today she lives in northwest London, where she celebrated her birthday surrounded by her family eating cake.

He said: “I want to celebrate the fact that my great-grandmother, now 99, can celebrate her survival surrounded by family and is still able to continue with a smile on her face.

“I think that’s what other people want to celebrate too, they look for that joy in life and when they see someone who spreads that light in the darkness, that’s something which people find quite special.”

“She is absolutely incredible, her will to live and carry on, and how much she loves life, is something which is unparalleled and unmatched - and something I’ve not seen in anyone else apart from other Holocaust survivors.

“The appreciation she has for every single small thing, and especially family.

“Every Friday night, we’re together as a family, with my great grandmother, and she tried to get as many of the family there together as she can - I think she’s instilled that value into every single one of us.

“She’s also incredibly youthful and fun and energetic. I think that’s why I am very energetic and when I have a passion and a cause, I carry it through.

“When I suggested we set up a TikTok account, she didn’t even hesitate, she joked and said, “I’m not dancing, but I’ll do it.”

“It shows her youthful nature and also that she wants to create change and do it in a way in which she can reach younger generations.

“We read the messages she receives and she is consistently blown away at the love people put out.

“But she doesn’t do this for that, she educates because this is the promise she made herself in Auschwitz - that if she survived, against all odds, she would tell people her story.

“She never really thought people would listen, but it’s not just been a few people listening, there have been hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people interacting on her birthday.

“She said when she was in the hell of Auschwitz she never thought she would have another birthday, and here she is, and I think it is the ultimate way of showing that the Nazis did not win.”

In a statement receiving the MBE, Lily said her mission is to use education to stop the past from being repeated.

She said: "I am so thankful that I get to share this honor with my whole family of three children, 10 grandchildren, and 36 great-grandchildren.

"They truly are my greatest blessing, and we are all united in our gratitude and pride.

"The mission that I, along with many other survivors share, is to educate about the horrors of the Holocaust and ensure that the past is never repeated."

"We will never give up on this mission.

"Our journey towards this goal has just begun, and it is up to all of us to ensure that it continues and remains alive.

"Working with my great grandson Dov over the past few years to educate the world about my story, both through social media and our book, Lily's Promise, has been so special.

"I am continually reassured by him that my story will live on in the future. I promised myself in Auschwitz that if I survived, I would tell my story to the world.

"I feel that this promise is being fulfilled. There is still, however, a long way for us to go."