Holocaust survivor, Lily Ebert, has died

Holocaust survivor Lily Ebert has died less than three months before she would have celebrated her 101st birthday.

Famed in part from the success of international best-selling book, `Lily´s Promise´ – which was written by Dov Forman, one of Lily´s many great-grandchildren – in a tribute to the incredible woman, the centenarian made it her life´s mission to preserve the brutal memories of the Holocaust. Lily and Forman used TikTok to publish true life accounts of the horrors of Auschwitz, and together gave nearly 200 interviews, both in the UK and internationally.

Lily Ebert died at home surrounded by her family

In Forman´s book, Lily is hailed as the `beloved matriarch´ of the family, and in a tribute to her posted on social network X, great-grandson Forman repeats this terminology, stating that the family has lost their `beloved matriarch´ but that she died at home surrounded by those who loved her most; the family that the Nazi´s had tried to prevent her from having. Lily left the world feeling proud of the five generations born from her blood, and was quoted by Forman on a previous post on X to have said that she had “Never expect[ed] to survive Auschwitz and start a family,” and that “Babies are the best revenge against the Nazi´s” [@DovForman, 16/01/2022, X].

From her own three children Lily was blessed with ten grandchildren, who in turn gave her thirty-eight great-grandchildren between them, as well as one great-great-grandchild which Lily was lucky enough to meet back in April this year.

The Holocaust survivor was an inspirational woman whose story touched the hearts of millions

Lily´s death comes almost a year since she received congratulations from King Charles III on her 100th birthday at the end of 2023, with a personally signed card and some flowers. In Forman´s post on X, he says that “A light that shone so brightly has today gone dark”, and talks about what a hero she was to her family and the devastating void that her passing has left in their lives. Forman refers to Lily affectionately as `Safta´, using the family´s pet name for her, and in his own words, “Safta´s story touched hundreds of millions worldwide, reminding us of the resilience of the human spirit and the dangers of unchecked hatred”.

Lily Ebert’s whole family suffered in the Holocaust

Lily´s family was captured and taken into Auschwitz-Berkenau on July 9, 1944, where her mother and two younger siblings were killed in the gas chambers. Lily and her remaining two sisters were put to work and spared, as was her elder brother [Holocaust Educational Trust]. Lily and her surviving sisters were freed by Allied forces in 1945, and initially headed to Switzerland to start new lives. However, in 1953 Lily found herself reunited with her brother, also a survivor, and moved to Israel where the family was able to live more closely together. There, Lily met her husband and gave birth to their 3 children [Ben Morgan, 24/01/2020, The Standard]. The married couple moved to the UK in 1967, where Lily lived out the rest of her life. One of her two daughters pre-deceased Lily, however her remaining daughter and her only son survive her, and are mourning with the rest of the family, whilst celebrating all that their incredible matriarch surpassed and achieved throughout her century on earth.