Lily Ebert & Dov Forman | Lily's Promise | Talks at Google
79In commemoration of Holocaust Remembrance Day, Lily Ebert & Dov Forman discuss Lily’s story surviving the Holocaust and their book "Lily’s Promise." When Lily Ebert was liberated in 1945, a Jewish-American soldier gave her a banknote on which he’d written ‘Good luck and happiness’. And when her great-grandson, Dov, decided to use social media to track down the family of the soldier, 96-year-old Lily found herself making headlines around the world. Lily had promised herself that if she survived Auschwitz she would tell everyone the truth about the camp. Now was her chance.
In Lily’s Promise she writes movingly about her happy childhood in Hungary, the death of her mother and two youngest siblings on their arrival at Auschwitz in 1944 and her determination to keep her two other sisters safe. She describes the inhumanity of the camp and the small acts of defiance that gave her strength. Lily’s memoir boasts a foreword by His Royal Highness Prince Charles, The Prince of Wales. Lily’s Promise is a two-time Sunday Times bestseller and was the Waterstones and Daily Mail UK’s Best History book of 2021. Dov and Lily spoke at the UK Parliament in favour of the UK Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre and have appeared on international radio and television shows, giving interviews to over 100 news outlets in more than 30 countries. In November 2021, Dov received the 'Points of Light' award from the UK Prime Minister at 10 Downing Street in recognition of exceptional services to Holocaust education.
About the panelists:
Lily Ebert BEM was born in Bonyhád, Hungary, in 1923. Soon after the German invasion of Hungary in March 1944, Lily, along with her mother and younger siblings, were later transported to Auschwitz concentration camp. On arrival, Lily’s mother, her sister and younger brother were selected to be gassed and cremated. Lily and her sisters, Renee and Piri, were selected for work. They were liberated by Allied troops at the end of the war. In 1967, Lily, her husband, and their three children moved to London. Since her husband’s passing in 1985, Lily has devoted herself to teaching about the Holocaust in schools, businesses and in many other organisations. She is a founding member of the Holocaust Survivors Centre and in 2015 was awarded the British Empire Medal for services to Holocaust education.
Dov Forman has grown up listening to the Holocaust testimony of his great-grandmother. Over the first UK lockdown, Dov dedicated his time to finding out as much as possible about Lily’s experience as a survivor of the Hungarian ghetto, Auschwitz concentration camp. Dov created a Twitter page to share Lily’s testimony, and he managed to track down the family of the US soldier who liberated Lily from the death march in April 1945.In February 2021, Dov created a Tiktok account to raise awareness about Lily’s Holocaust testimony. Dov and Lily’s account has over 1.5 million followers, 21.5 million likes and their top 5 most popular videos collectively have over 50 million views.
Moderated by James Rosenthal.