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The Holocaust survivor who became a TikTok star

Remembering Lily Ebert who survived Auschwitz, and shared her story with millions of followers online.

Lily Ebert, who has died at the age of 100, was just a teenager when war broke out across Europe. Born into a large Hungarian-Jewish family, she was deported to Auschwitz concentration camp after Germany invaded Hungary in 1944. She survived the ordeal, along with two of her younger sisters. All three went on to build lives after the war; marrying, having large families – but never speaking of the horrors they had experienced. But after suffering a bereavement in the 1980s, Lily started to revisit her experiences – and began to speak out. At the age of 97, with the help of her great-grandson Dov she became an unlikely TikTok star, sharing her story with a new generation of followers online. In 2021 Lily and Dov spoke to Emily Webb about Lily's experiences during the war – and the viral tweet that brought her internet fame.

82-year-old former travel agent Caroline Thomas works as a 'casualty simulator' in the UK. She acts the part of an injured or distressed person during training exercises for emergency services such as medics and fire brigades. Like on a film set, Caroline’s work involves staging emergency scenarios using realistic makeup, fake limbs, special effects, and a big dose of theatrics to make it all believable.

Get in touch: outlook@bbc.com or WhatsApp +44 330 678 2707

Photo: Lily Ebert and Dov Forman
Credit: Tereza Červeňová

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