Arab Press

بالشعب و للشعب
Friday, Jun 20, 2025

Holocaust survivor, 98, uses TikTok to tell her story and educate young people

Holocaust survivor, 98, uses TikTok to tell her story and educate young people

Lily Ebert who was sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in 1944 has more than 1.6 million followers and says she wants her generation's experiences to be accessible to younger people

Most people in their 90s probably haven’t even heard of TikTok, but Lily Ebert is one of its biggest stars.

The 98-year-old has more than 1.6 million followers on the platform, where young people love to share dances and lip-syncing videos.

But Lily has used TikTok for something completely different – sharing her memories of the Holocaust.

In July 1944, Lily, then 20, and her family were sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp, where at least 1.1 million people were killed by the Nazis.

As Britain marked Holocaust Memorial Day earlier this week, Lily told how it was important for her to share her story wherever and however she can.

Lily is a star on social media

Lily makes her story accessible


Speaking from her home in North London, she says: “I am a witness. Our generation is the last one who really saw what happened.

“In a few years’ time, nobody will be here any more. It will be history.” Lily was born into a middle-class Jewish family in Hungary.

She promised her father Ahron she would look after her five siblings shortly before he died from pneumonia in 1942 – two years before the Nazis seized control of the country.

Lily is pictured second from the right with the US soldier who gave her the bank note


Lily says: “We had a very nice life before the Nazis invaded Hungary. Then, everything changed.

“Their aim was to kill all the Jews, but before they achieved that, they wanted to make our lives as difficult as they could.”

Lily remembers being made to wear a yellow Star of David on her clothes and obey strict curfews.

A group of child survivors behind a barbed wire fence at the Nazi concentration camp at Auschwitz-Birkenau in southern Poland


But as the situation got worse, her family were sent to live in a ghetto before being put on a train on a hot July day in 1944.

Lily recalls being locked in the cramped train compartment.

“There were about 70 or 80 people – men, women, children,” she says. “They put two buckets [in there] – one for water, one for human waste.

“They closed the door with the heat, the smell, babies crying… you cannot visualise this situation, what it really was.

Lily with her book


“And like that, we began a five-day journey. We didn’t know what they wanted with us. They said only they would take us to a place where we will work.”

Lily thought she would have to do a few months of work and then they could all go home.

It wasn’t until the train came to a stop at Auschwitz that the full horror of the situation emerged.

German Nazi doctor and war criminal Josef Mengele


Upon arrival, SS officer Josef Mengele – known as the ‘Angel of Death’ – divided the family.

With a wave of his stick, he sent Lily and her sisters René and Piri to the right.

Her mother Nina, brother Bela and sister Berta were sent to the left, directly to the gas chambers.

Lily, who was initially unaware of what was going on, spotted the smoking chimneys in the camp and asked another prisoner what they were. She says: “We asked, ‘Where are we? What sort of factory is this?’

A soldier wrote on a bank note, 'a start to a new life. Good luck and happiness” and gave it to Lily


“They said, ‘It’s not a factory. They burn your parents, your children, when you come here’. We told them, ‘You are mad… it cannot happen’.”

Lily was still in Auschwitz on Yom Kippur in 1944 when she took a vow. She says: “I didn’t ­believe it would ­happen but I promised myself, ‘If I survive, I will tell the world what really happened’. I kept my promise, and I still do.”

Auschwitz was liberated by the Red Army in 1945. Soon after, Lily met a US soldier in Germany who gave her a banknote, with the written message: “A start to a new life. Good luck and happiness.”

Lily with her great grandson Dov Forman


Lily recently spoke to the soldier’s family online to thank them for his kindness.

Since the war she has devoted her life to educating others about the Holocaust.

And with the help of Dov Forman, one of her 35 great-grandchildren, she used the first lockdown to reach a new generation via TikTok.

Lily and Prince Charles


Dov, 18, says: “If we want to build a better future, we have to realise that young people have to learn from, and build on, the experiences of others.

“The response has been incredible. To reach the ­younger generation, you have to make it accessible for them.”

Paintings of Lily and other Holocaust survivors went on display at the Queen’s Gallery in Buckingham Palace this week.

They were commissioned by Prince Charles, who wrote the foreword to the memoir Lily penned with Dov, called Lily’s Promise: How I Survived Auschwitz and Found the Strength to Live.

Lily meets Boris Johnson


At the unveiling, a proud Lily told the Prince of Wales: “Meeting you… it is for everyone who lost their lives.”

The prince humbly replied: “But it is a greater privilege for me.”

Almost 80 years after the Holocaust, Lily believes educating others is the only way to stop such atrocities being repeated.

She says: “We know now is the last ­moment. People should not let something like it ever happen again.”

Newsletter

Related Articles

Arab Press
0:00
0:00
Close
16 Billion Login Credentials Leaked in Unprecedented Cybersecurity Breach
Senate hearing on who was 'really running' Biden White House kicks off
G7 Leaders Fail to Reach Consensus on Key Global Issues
Mass exodus in Tehran as millions try to flee following Trump’s evacuation order
Iranian Military Officers Reportedly Seek Contact with Reza Pahlavi, Signal Intent to Defect
China's Iranian Oil Imports Face Disruption Amid Escalating Middle East Tensions
Trump Demands Iran's Unconditional Surrender Amid Escalating Conflict
Israeli Airstrike Targets Iranian State TV in Central Tehran
President Trump is leaving the G7 summit early and has ordered the National Security Council to the Situation Room
Netanyahu Signals Potential Regime Change in Iran
Analysts Warn Iran May Resort to Unconventional Warfare
Iranian Regime Faces Existential Threat Amid Conflict
Energy Infrastructure Becomes War Zone in Middle East
Iran Conducts Ballistic Missile Launches Amid Heightened Tensions with Israel
Iran Signals Openness to Nuclear Negotiations Amid Ongoing Regional Tensions
Shock Within Iran’s Leadership: Khamenei’s Failed Plan to Launch 1,000 Missiles Against Israel
UK Deploys Jets to Middle East Amid Rising Tensions
Exiled Iranian Prince Reza Pahlavi Urges Overthrow of Khamenei Regime
Wreck of $17 Billion San José Galleon Identified Off Colombia After 300 Years
Iran Launches Extensive Missile Attack on Israel Following Israeli Strikes on Nuclear Sites
Israel Issues Ultimatum to Iran Over Potential Retaliation and Nuclear Facilities
Coinbase CEO Warns Bitcoin Could Supplant US Dollar Amid Mounting National Debt
Trump to Iran: Make a Deal — Sign or Die
Operation "Like a Lion": Israel Strikes Iran in Unprecedented Offensive
Israel Launches 'Operation Rising Lion' Targeting Iranian Nuclear and Military Sites
Israeli Forces Intercept Gaza-Bound Aid Vessel Carrying Greta Thunberg
IMF Warns of Severe Global Trade War Impacts on Emerging Markets
Syria to Reconnect to Global Economy After 14 Years of Isolation
Saudi Arabia Faces Uncertainty Over Succession After Mohammed bin Salman
Israel Confirms Arming Gaza Clan to Counter Hamas Influence
Majority of French Voters View Macron's Presidency as a Failure
U.S. Reduces Military Presence in Syria
Trump Demands Iran End All Uranium Enrichment in Nuclear Talks
Iran Warns Europe Against Politicizing UN Nuclear Report
Businessman Mauled by Lion at Luxury Namibian Lodge
Paris Saint-Germain's Greatest Triumph Is Football’s Lowest Point
OPEC+ Agrees to Increase Oil Output for Third Consecutive Month
Turkey Detains Istanbul Officials Amid Anti-Corruption Crackdown
Meta and Anduril Collaborate on AI-Driven Military Augmented Reality Systems
EU Central Bank Pushes to Replace US Dollar with Euro as World’s Main Currency
European and Arab Ministers Convene in Madrid to Address Gaza Conflict
Head of Gaza Aid Group Resigns Amid Humanitarian Concerns
U.S. Health Secretary Ends Select COVID-19 Vaccine Recommendations
Trump Warns Putin Is 'Playing with Fire' Amid Escalating Ukraine Conflict
India and Pakistan Engage Trump-Linked Lobbyists to Influence U.S. Policy
U.S. Halts New Student Visa Interviews Amid Enhanced Security Measures
Trump Administration Cancels $100 Million in Federal Contracts with Harvard
SpaceX Starship Test Flight Ends in Failure, Mars Mission Timeline Uncertain
King Charles Affirms Canadian Sovereignty Amid U.S. Statehood Pressure
Iranian Revolutionary Guard Founder Warns Against Trusting Regime in Nuclear Talks
×