Two centenarian Holocaust survivors meet for first time

While visiting from Israel to speak at the March of the Living UK film premiere of ‘MOTL - Journey of Hope: Retracing the Kindertransport After 85 Years,’ a Kindertransport survivor met an Auschwitz survivor at her home in London, last week. 

The two survivors, Lily Ebert and Walter Bingham have both reached 100 years old. The film by the March of the Living depicts Bingham’s story, as well as the stories of Paul Alexander (88) and George Shefi (92). In the documentary, they retraced their journey to mark 85 years since they fled Germany - without their parents - following Kristallnacht, in October.

Scott Saunders, CEO of the International March of the Living, said: “At the essence of the March of the Living mission is the sentiment that, when you hear a witness, you become a witness. We were privileged to spend time in the company of two of our most influential survivors and witnesses – Lily Ebert MBE and Walter Bingham. Lily and Walter not only bring together two hundred years of life but decades of Holocaust education that has ensured future generations will be witnesses to the atrocities of the Holocaust too.”

Walter Bingham, 100, holds the Guinness World Record for being the oldest living journalist. At 15, his mother put him – her only son – on a train to England as part of the British Kindertransport effort that saved the lives of more than 10,000 mostly Jewish children.

During this time, his father was arrested by the Nazis and he was later murdered in the Holocaust. His mother survived the concentration camps and was eventually reunited with Bingham. He eventually joined the British Army and six months later, he landed in the water on the beaches of Normandy, at the invasion of Europe. Due to his war efforts, he was awarded the Military Medal for “Bravery in the Field.”

As a German speaker, he was transferred to Counter-Intelligence and sent to London for training. On VE day, he took up a post in Hamburg Germany where he interrogated the Nazi Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop. After initially denying all knowledge of the ‘Final Solution’, following the Nuremberg war crimes trials, Ribbentrop was the first to mount the gallows. 

Walter has acted in numerous movies, including two Harry Potter films, and eventually moved to Israel in 2003.

Lily Elbert's story 

Lily Elbert was 20 years old when she was deported from her hometown in Hungary to the Auschwitz concentration camp. Her mother, younger sister, and brother were killed by Nazis in gas chambers. She was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2023 New Year Honors for services to Holocaust education.  

Lily Ebert MBE said, "Walter and I are both centenarian Holocaust survivors. We are members of a community that we did not want to be a part of or choose to be a part of - the Holocaust survivor community. We have to live, every day, with the pain of what we went through. We share that understanding, and it is for that reason that meeting the inspirational Walter was so special."

Lily Ebert is active on social media, with a TikTok account that is run by her great-grandson and is followed by 2.1 million people. Through TikTok, and social media, she continues to tell her story to the next generation.  

Walter Bingham, who currently lives in Jerusalem, said about the film, “The past is gone. We mustn’t dwell on it. But if you don’t know the past you can’t make the future any better. We can educate, and speak to people, and schools. Talking to people about what it means and the consequences of their actions and hope that they will learn from it.”

Referring to the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, he said, "I often get asked what the difference is between what happened then and today’s situation in Israel. There are several differences but for me, the most important difference is that the Nazis were hiding what they were doing, they did it all in secret and nobody knew. Today’s terrorists are very proud of what they are doing, and they are showing it. That is a remarkable difference".