Holocaust survivor and TikTok personality Lily Ebert received thousands of birthday greetings for her 98th birthday, which she celebrated on Thursday.
Ebert, who lives in London, is known as one of the world’s oldest members of TikTok. She started the account with her 18-year old great-grandson Dov Forman. Ebert uses TikTok to educate about the Holocaust, share the story of her experience as a survivor, and to answer questions.
The cards and messages were the result of Forman asking social media users to sent Ebert well wishes in honor of her birthday.
“Today my incredible great grandma Lily Ebert, a Holocaust survivor, turns 98!!” Dov Forman said on Twitter.
Forman’s post included a message from Ebert: “I never expected to survive Auschwitz. Now, at 98, I celebrate surrounded by my family – the Nazis did not win!”
“To the thousands of people who sent birthday cards & messages to Lily, thank you,” added Forman.
Forman also shared Ebert’s mailing address, and she received over 2,500 birthday cards from many different countries. British Secretary of State for Education Nadhim Zahawi and the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum also sent her cards.
“It is so humbling to see so many people, from all over the world, respond to my request to surprise Lily for her birthday,” Forman told the Daily Mail.
“My great-grandmother has not just survived Auschwitz and the Holocaust. She has built a large and loving family with three children, 10 grandchildren and 34 great-grandchildren who all love her very much,” he said. “Lily’s 98th birthday, which is now being celebrated together with millions online, is another of life’s affirmations – the Nazis, and the prejudice and hatred that they stood for, didn’t win.”
Ebert was on one of the last trains deporting Hungarian Jews to Auschwitz in 1944. She told her story of surviving the Holocaust in her book, “Lily's Promise: How I Survived Auschwitz and Found the Strength to Live.”
(Israel National News' North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)