Holocaust Memorial Day: Auschwitz survivor educates public after recovery from COVID-19

Lily Ebert has survived both the Holocaust and COVID-19.
Lily Ebert has survived both the Holocaust and COVID-19. Copyright Euronews
By Luke Hanrahan
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Lily Ebert, 97, survived Auschwitz and COVID-19. Now she and her great-grandson are writing a book together.

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This remarkable 97-year-old, Lily Ebert, is both a Holocaust survivor and a COVID-19 survivor and now she's marking Holocaust Memorial Day with her great-grandson Dov Forman.

"People should never ever forget the biggest crime against humanity," Ebert told Euronews.

She sees it as her duty to keep talking about the horrors of the Holocaust and the dangers of extremist politicians.

"I know I am one of the last survivors. I promised myself, if I survive I will tell the world what really happened and I kept my promise," Ebert said.

Ebert was the eldest of six children and was sent to Auschwitz after living in Hungarian ghettos. She was transported to the notorious concentration camp in 1944 with 100 members of her extended family.

Her mother, younger sister and brother were murdered in the gas chambers upon arrival in the camps. An estimated six million Jews were killed in the Holocaust.

Ebert survived Auschwitz and eventually was evacuated from Germany in 1945.

Recently, she met the family of the American soldier who saved her, via Zoom. She had kept a German banknote with his writing on it.

Ebert and Forman are writing a book together to educate future generations.

'Miraculous recovery' from COVID-19

Ebert also survived COVID-19, and her great-grandson recently documented her recovery. She went on her first walk on January 21 after recovering from the illness.

Her great-grandson's tweet about the milestone went viral amid the pandemic that has killed more than two million people globally.

"When we hit that milestone of her being able to walk I really wanted to give her that sense of life again," Forman told Euronews.

"Her smile was so vibrant, there was such life in that photo that I was sure it would offer people light in the darkness."

"It was really, I was so happy, I was happy, really happy that I can walk outside," said Ebert.

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