Lily Ebert, now 98, survived the death camp at Auschwitz-Birkenau. After liberation, Ebert promised herself she would tell people what had happened there. Now, living in London, Ebert is keeping that promise with the help of her 18-year-old great-grandson, telling her story to millions of people on TikTok. Since Feb. 9, 2021, they have posted more than 380 videos, drawing in 1.7 million followers and amassing 25 million likes.
Ebert, born in Hungary, arrived with her family in
Auschwitz when she was 20. Guards took her mother, brother and sister
to the gas chambers the day they arrived. In total, more than 100 of
Ebert's relatives died in the Holocaust. In her videos, Ebert talked
about how the Nazis gave their captives so little food that some died of
hunger. She told viewers about the smell of burning flesh and how, when
she returned to the death camp years later, she felt like she was
smelling it again. Female Nazis killed prisoners' babies. In a video
viewed 25 million times, she shows the number Nazis tattooed into her
left forearm. "My number is A-10572. That is what I was," she said.
In a video last
week for International Holocaust Remembrance Day that was viewed 1.2
million times in five days, Ebert said, "The Holocaust was the biggest
crime against humanity. Never before were factories - factories - built for killing people. I was there in Auschwitz-Birkenau. I am a witness." (Washington Post)
