“The beginning of a new life.”
Just six words affected Lily Ebert in 1945, a year after she and her family were forced to leave Hungary and sent to the infamous Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp, where her mother, younger sister, brother and more than 100 members of her. families were killed in gas chambers.
Ebert and two of her sisters were chosen to work for the Nazis until they were “no longer useful,” her great-nephew Dov Forman, 21, recently told The Post.
In April 1945, Ebert and her sisters were on a “death march” when American-Jewish forces liberated them.
One of these soldiers handed Ebert a note with a hopeful message: “The beginning of a new life. Good luck and happiness.”
Now, her story and memories are among many honored in Nikki Schreiber’s new book The People of Judaism, a collection of over 200 poignant stories of Jewish identity and perseverance, including those of Holocaust survivors, artists, inventors , founders, famous and personal personalities. family stories.
And, in a time of rising anti-Semitism, people are turning to honest stories like these to find light in the darkness.
“Lily Ebert was really personal to me,” Schreiber told The Post. “It’s a hard reality, but the treasure and hopefully the comfort for the surviving family is to see that there are various tools they offer to carry on the legacy. I hope it’s something meaningful.”
For Forman, continuing Ebert’s story through the heartwarming book “means a lot.”
“To the world, she was this heroine, an inspiration. She was a hero to many. To me, she was just my great-grandmother, and to our family she was just that ever-present queen of our big, loving family,” Forman said.
An ‘unbelievable’ reunion
Seventy-six years after Ebert was rescued, Forman posted a photo of the bill on X (then Twitter) during the COVID-19 pandemic, and thanks to the power of social media, she was able to connect with the deceased soldier’s children in a video call on 2020.
“It’s unbelievable. I never knew something like this could happen. It was an amazing feeling,” Ebert told NBC at the time.
“It was really special. It felt like we were family, we just clicked,” added Forman.
From there, Ebert and Forman dedicated their online presence to Holocaust education, and with over a billion views across all platforms and 2 million followers, many found themselves inspired by Ebert — including King Charles III, who commissioned a painting of her for Buckingham Palace.
Ebert had promised himself that if he survived the Holocaust, he would educate the world to make sure something like this never happened again.
And she did, penning a memoir titled Lily’s Promise and sharing her story with the world before she died aged 100 in October.
Including her story in the book “People of Judaism” keeps her memory alive, Forman said.
“It’s obviously a massive loss, but to know that she lives on in so many people and in these books, and that she inspires so many to live their lives in such amazing and positive ways,” Forman said. “Knowing that so many people do what they do because of my great grandmother is so special to us as a family.
“I think every single contributor that participated … it’s their story, it’s the whole book for them,” Schreiber added. “It’s so wild — it’s really just meaningful.”
People of Judaism
Stories like Ebert’s have become a way for Schreiber to deal with her grief. After her father died, she decided to honor his memory by starting the Humans of Judaism Instagram account, sharing stories of grief and ultimately hope.
The release of Schreiber’s book coincided with the 10th anniversary of her social media page, and coincidentally, the tome also came as the Jewish community was suffering collective grief at a time when levels of anti-Semitism had reached a record high amid Israel’s ongoing war. -Hamas. .
“The time was pretty wild with what was going on in the Jewish world,” Schreiber said. “It was born out of my personal grief and here I am again 10 years later in a personal community grief with everyone.”
The hand-picked Jewish stories range from famous and notable people like Louis and Lillian Zabar, founders of the world-famous Zabar’s Market, to Holocaust survivors like Ebert, to ordinary people with extraordinary stories. However, the selection of specific stories for the book had a little more purpose and consideration, “gently taking care of their families’ stories and precious history,” Schreiber said.
“This past year was an interesting year,” she admitted. “On the one hand, you want to tell your stories; on the other hand, we’re releasing information, names, things like that – it got a little more complicated this year, I’m not going to pretend it didn’t.”
Work on the book during and after October. 7, 2023, Hamas’ attacks on Gaza added another layer of “significant” purpose and meaning to its project.
“I really hope it gives readers the same strength that really kept me going during a low point,” Schreiber said.
And the book seems to be bringing some light to the darkness experienced by those in the Jewish community who could benefit the most, Schreiber said.
An unidentified person featured in the book was sitting Shiva (the period of Jewish mourning) with several families on his block and told Schreiber, “I read your book this weekend and it just gave me such strength that I needed “.
“Fight Hate and Lead with Love”
Schreiber has used her Instagram page and now the book as a creative expression to bring hope to the world. She believes the book will show the Jewish community that “you are not alone.”
“I hope there will be some strength just knowing that we are all dealing with it.”
Many of the stories presented in the book are of ordinary people showing their defense.
“We all have our own way of doing something positive and meaningful to fight hate and lead with love, and everyone has that in their own voice and style,” Schreiber explained. “It is such an important component because we cannot exist without the wonderful love we have for our friends, neighbors and supporters.
“It helps you see what people risk and what people do, and I think that’s such an important part of how the world works.”
Forman said that to get through tough times, it’s important to “look for those community heroes, those people who have come through in the past and who inspire us to carry on today.”
“It’s not just about people learning about sadness, but also being inspired about how they can build a better life when they’re going through such hard times and how things will get better because the world, especially now, often seems so dark.” he continued. “But my great-grandmother always said that there will be better times, better days.”
And while the Humans of Judaism Instagram page is constantly sharing heartwarming stories, sometimes it’s helpful to step away from social media and put away the screens — especially when the hateful comments seem endless, Schreiber suggested.
“Have this printed, keep it proudly in your home,” she said of the book, in time for Hanukkah. “I feel like it’s a family photo album. There isn’t OWN history. it’s OUR story.”
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Image Source : nypost.com