After four months in Auschwitz, a Holocaust survivor celebrated her 35th birthday as a great-grandmother.
Lily Ebert, 98, who grew up in Hungary, was liberated by American soldiers in April 1945 when she was 20 and, some 77 years later, says babies are the ‘best revenge against the Nazis’.
She stated, “It is very rare for anyone to accomplish this feat – to become a great-grandmother. But it’s even more special for me because I am a Holocaust survivor.
“I didn’t think I could achieve this.” To survive, I first had to die. Then came the time to reach this age. (The Nazis) tried to kill me and (we) proved to them that we could not.
Lily Ebert, 98, who spent four months at Auschwitz has celebrated becoming a great-grandmother for the 35th time. Pictured: Lily as a newborn in 2003 with Dov Forman (great-grandson).
Following her release, Ms Ebert lived for a year in Switzerland and then moved to Palestine-occupied Israel.
With her husband Samuel she immigrated to the UK 1967 and started educating others about the horrors in the Holocaust.
She is now based in North London, where she is a mother-of-three, grandmother-of-10, and great-grandmother-of-35.
Dov Forman (one of her great-grandsons) explained that she has dedicated her entire life to teaching others about the Holocaust.
“She was a Survivor who would attend different schools, work places, and organizations with others survivors…and she would tell her stories. Her name was also on the founding committee of the Holocaust Survivor Centre, UK.
Lily shared her personal testimony about surviving Nazis in schools and workplaces. Lily said she promised herself that future generations would hear her tale. Dov Forman and Lily
Ms Ebert explained that she ‘promised’ herself she would tell her story, saying: ‘I have not heard the story – I was there. It is my duty to be a witness. I made a promise to myself, that as long I’m here, I’d tell the stories of my experiences for future generations.
In tweetDov (18 years old) praised his great grandmother, which has been liked 120,000 times.
The writer wrote, “My 98-year old great-grandmother Lily Ebert was an Auschwitz survivor and has just been made a great grandma for 35th times.”
Many people commented on the post. They were moved by it and they shared the stories of their relatives who have borne a child after the Holocaust.
Dov stated that he learned so much from his great-grandmother, and is now using social media to share her story with as many people as possible. Pictured: Lily celebrating her 98th Birthday
Dov, an A-level student has reached over 1 million people through a TikTok account that Ms Ebert created for her stories and Miss Ebert.
A book he co-authored with Ms Ebert, Lily’s Promise is also his. It tells the story of her life.
Dov stated that they are just trying to share her story with as many people possible via social media as well as through our book. Dov said, “I could stay here all day to tell you everything I learned from her… she truly is the Queen of the Family.”
“We are just an extremely tight family, and Lily is at the top. She inspires us everyday.
Lily was aboard one of those last trains that carried Hungarian Jews into Auschwitz, 1944. After spending months at Birkenau, she was taken to Altenburg. This sub-camp is Buchenwald.
She was born in December 1923 in Bonyhád, a town in southwestern Hungary which at the time had a Jewish population of nearly 7,000.
In July 2020 she was first to make headlines after searching for her family, which included an American soldier who had given her a note with a message that wished her luck and happiness.