Holocaust survivor Lily Ebert never lost her kindness, despite the horror she witnessed

16 October 2024, 19:57 | Updated: 17 October 2024, 11:47

Lily Ebert lived through some of the most world-shaping, history-shifting moments in the last century - the Second World War, the Holocaust, the creation of a new State of Israel, Covid, the TikTok revolution.

Lily was 20 when she was deported from her home in Hungary to Auschwitz-Birkenau. On arrival she was separated from her mother, brother, and one of her sisters who were all immediately murdered in the gas chambers.

She was tattooed with the number 10572, her hair was shaved, her clothes were taken and replaced with flimsy striped pyjamas. Each of these steps aimed to reduce her to a faceless, nameless statistic, but Lily somehow maintained her humanity throughout.

Having endured the most seismic event in European history, Lily made her way to Switzerland and, from there, to Mandate Palestine. Three years later, she stood on Rothschild Boulevard in Tel Aviv, witnessing the Declaration of Independence in 1948. She would tell the story of running into the streets and dancing as the declaration was read out, overwhelmed with joy. This moment was a turning point in history – for Lily, and for the Jewish people.

Read more: Tributes to Auschwitz survivor Lily Ebert who has died aged 100

After the suffering and loss Lily and so many others had endured, she forever remembered how she felt to know that there was a homeland for the Jewish people, a place where Jewish people would always be welcome and always be safe.

In the same year that Lily celebrated Israel’s independence, she also celebrated her own wedding, and in 1967 she came to the UK and rebuilt her life here. She raised her family and just this year lived to see the birth of her first great great grandchild. The woman who had starved in the camps, who had lost half of her family, and who had left Europe with nothing, went on to have her portrait hanging in Buckingham Palace.

She met prime ministers, royalty, celebrities, religious leaders. The woman who had only two sisters left after the war, going on to have over 45 grandchildren and great grandchildren, and the hearts of a whole community and nation.

At the age of 97 she witnessed another world-changing event - the Covid pandemic, in fact surviving Covid herself. I remember calling her during the lock down to check in – she laughed and said “I can sit in a garden, there is food in the fridge and water from the tap, what hardship am I experiencing?”. Her biggest struggle was not being able to share her testimony.

Together with her great-grandson Dov, she turned even this into an opportunity – joining Tik Tok as it exploded onto the social media landscape, sharing her experiences with millions. And at almost 100 years of age, she published her book, ‘Lily’s Promise’, to international acclaim.

Sadly, Lily also lived through the resurgence of anti-Semitism over the last year since the October 7 terrorist attack on Israel by Hamas. Using her platform, she started speaking out passionately against the anti-Jewish hatred she now witnessed and recognised from her childhood. What bravery and what wisdom. She continued to make a difference, never giving up.

Lily was remarkable. Whatever the last century threw at her, she found a way through. Despite the horrors she witnessed, she never lost her kindness, her sense of humour or the twinkle in her eye.

Despite being small in stature, she always made sure her voice was heard. Her legacy will endure.

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Karen Pollock CBE is CEO of the Holocaust Educational Trust.

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