King Charles Pens Moving Tribute to Holocaust Survivor Lily Ebert After Her Death at 100: ‘Never Be Forgotten’

Ebert, who used TikTok to educate younger generations about the atrocities of the Holocaust, died on Oct. 9

Holocaust survivor Lily Ebert with King Charles in 2022. Photo: Arthur Edwards – WPA Pool/Getty

King Charles is remembering Lily Ebert, an Auschwitz survivor who used social media to educate new generations about the Holocaust, following her death at 100 years old.

The Hungarian-born Holocaust survivor and educator died on Wednesday, Oct. 9 in her London home, her great-grandson Dov Forman confirmed to The New York Times.

After learning of her death, the King, 75, who presented Ebert with a Member of The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire last year, released a statement praising her “extraordinary resilience.”

“It was with the greatest sadness that I heard this morning the news of Lily Ebert’s death,” King Charles wrote. “As a survivor of the unmentionable horrors of the Holocaust, I am so proud that she later found a home in Britain where she continued to tell the world of the horrendous atrocities she had witnessed, as a permanent reminder for our generation — and, indeed, for future generations — of the depths of depravity and evil to which humankind can fall, when reason, compassion and truth are abandoned.”

King Charles’ statement about Lily Ebert’s death.The Royal Family/Instagram

“Alongside other Holocaust survivors,” the monarch continued, “she became an integral part of the fabric of our nation; her extraordinary resilience and courage an example to us all, which will never be forgotten.”

To honor Ebert, the royal family’s official Instagram account also shared a post documenting her trip to Windsor Castle to receive her MBE for her services to Holocaust education in early 2023.

Through her TikTok account, which Forman started during the pandemic, Ebert educated new generations about the atrocities of the Holocaust. Also during lockdown, the duo co-wrote Ebert’s memoir, Lily’s Promise, which features a foreword by King Charles.

It is for these reasons that the monarch awarded Ebert with an MBE, an experience her great-grandson called “humbling.”

Lily Ebert with great-grandson Dov Formana t Windsor Castle. ANDREW MATTHEWS/POOL/AFP via Getty

Following his and Ebert’s time in the castle, Forman told PEOPLE, “She said to [King Charles] how she never thought she would survive the hell of Auschwitz-Birkenau and now to be here with the King in the palace, it’s so special. And how the award is for all the work of all the survivors.”

The then-19-year-old also noted that seeing his great-grandmother become emotional touched him.

“To see the tears coming down her cheeks as she was speaking to him and to stand beside them and hear their conversation was so special,” he told PEOPLE, later adding, “My great-grandmother really is the queen of the family.”

Prior to her death at 100, Ebert gained 2 million followers on TikTok, where she opened up her time in Auschwitz and her liberation experience in 1945.

In a video posted in 2021, she shared that she was in the infamous concentration camp for a total of four months. “People would say, ‘Four months is not so long.’ But I will tell you something…even four months was too long,” she said.

In a different clip, Ebert stated that “in Auschwitz, you were not afraid of death — you were afraid to live.” In another, she answered a question about “everyday life” at the camp simply by stating, “the answer is it was not life.”

Lily Ebert, who died at 100 years old on Oct. 9, 2024 and who was honored by King Charles in a moving tribute. Ken McKay/ITV/Shutterstock

Her final video was posted on Sept. 13, 2023. It featured her and Forman greeting her followers. “Hello, TikTok,” she said in the short clip. “Shabbat Shalom!”