Holocaust survivor Lily Ebert MBE has marked her 100th birthday surrounded by family and tens of thousands of cards and messages.
Ebert has committed her life to raising awareness about the Holocaust since being deported from her home in Hungary to the notorious Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp in 1944. Her mother, brother and sister were killed in the gas chambers.
Well wishes arrived from around the world, including from former Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
Ebert also received a personal letter and bouquet from King Charles ‘with very special and warmest wishes'.
The letter said: “Dear Lily, I particularly wanted to write a personal word on the very special occasion of your 100th birthday…
“The terrible suffering which you and your family endured can never be adequately described or acknowledged, but as a survivor of the horrors of those years, your life's work has been to remind our generation of the depths of depravity and evil to which humankind can descend, when reason, humanity and truth are abandoned.
“By continuing to remind the world of the unimaginable atrocities which you witnessed, you have lived your life positively, with true nobility and without hatred, in a way that is an example to us all.
LONDON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 24: Prince Charles, Prince of Wales speaks with with survivor Lily Ebert at an exhibition of Seven Portraits: Surviving the Holocaust, which were commissioned by Prince Charles, Prince of Wales to pay tribute to Holocaust survivors, at The Queens Gallery, Buckingham Palace on January 24, 2022 in London, England. (Photo by Arthur Edwards - WPA Pool/Getty Images)
“Your extraordinary strength of spirit, resilience and courage is admired more than I can possibly say.
“I do hope that you have a very happy day in the company of your family and friends, and this brings you countless thoughts and blessings on such a memorable anniversary.”
Ebert said: “I never thought I would survive Auschwitz. Now I celebrate 100 surrounded by my large and loving family. The Nazis did not win!”
Earlier this year, Lily was awarded an MBE by King Charles for her services to Holocaust education.
Along with her great-grandson Dov Forman, she helps to educate and inform young people about the Holocaust through books and social media content, particularly on TikTok where she has garnered more than 2 million followers.
She co-authored a memoir, Lily’s Promise: How I Survived Auschwitz and Found the Strength to Live with Forman in 2021.
Forman told the JC: “We’ve been waiting for this moment for so long. We had an intimate gathering of family yesterday and today different people are coming around throughout the day to wish Lily a happy birthday.”
Hungarian-born Holocaust survivor Lily Ebert (L) stands with her her great-grandson Dov Forman as she poses with her medal after being appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) following an investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle, on January 31, 2023. (Photo by Andrew Matthews / POOL / AFP) (Photo by ANDREW MATTHEWS/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
He added: “This is a particularly worrying and difficult time, as holocaust survivors are seeing antisemitism on the rise again.
“The terrible time, which we are reminded of with rising antisemitism today, makes Lily’s birthday celebration even more important.
“To receive a letter from the King in these challenging times for the Jewish community is so special.”
Forman said that Ebert's “memories of her mother, youngest sister, and her youngest brother, who were all killed in the Holocaust, are clear in her mind today.”
“Just imagine if those 6 million Jews who were murdered in the Holocaust had survived until their one hundredth birthday surrounded by their families,” he said.
In later years, Ebert’s family emigrated to Israel, where she married and had three children, before moving to London in 1967.
The Hungarian-born survivor of the death camp has 10 grandchildren and 36 great-grandchildren.
