Dov Forman

Dov Forman
Forman in 2021
Born
London, England
Known for
  • Lily's Promise: How I Survived Auschwitz and Found the Strength to Live published with Lily Ebert
  • Media appearances and social media videos
RelativesLily Ebert (great-grandmother)

Dov Forman is a British author and social media creator. His great-grandmother was Auschwitz survivor Lily Ebert and from 2020 they began using social media to educate people about the Holocaust and Judaism, and to advocate against antisemitism, reaching over one billion views .[1] He also co-authored Lily’s Promise, a book documenting Ebert's experience during the Holocaust.

Personal life

Forman is a religious Jew of Ashkenazi descent. He is the youngest of three children, one of Holocaust survivor Lily Ebert's 38 great-grandchildren, and lives in northwest London.[2]

As of 2025, Forman was studying Central and East European History and Jewish Studies at University College London.[3] He was also working for Conservative MP Robert Jenrick producing social media content.[4][5]

Activism and social media

At age 16, during the COVID-19 pandemic and amid a rise of antisemitism, Forman wanted to raise awareness of the Holocaust and anti-Jewish racism. He used Twitter to share his great-grandmother's story of surviving the Holocaust; his Tweets reaching over 70 million Twitter users in 2020 and 2021.[6]

In February 2021, Forman, in addition to his work on Twitter, set up a TikTok account to raise awareness among people his own age about the Holocaust and the consequences of hate, having seen other people going viral for dancing.[7][8][9] Forman posted videos with his great-grandmother answering questions about the Holocaust and Judaism. In June 2021, the pair reached one million TikTok followers.[10]

Book

Forman co-authored the memoir Lily's Promise: How I Survived Auschwitz and Found the Strength to Live,[11][12] published by Pan Macmillan in the UK on 2 September 2021 and by HarperCollins in the US on 10 May 2022.[13][14]

The United States edition of Lily's Promise is a four-time New York Times bestseller, debuting at number 2 - in its first week, and was chosen as the Costco US buyers' pick for May 2022.[15][16]

In a foreword to Lily's Promise, King Charles III (known then at publication as Prince Charles of Wales) paid tribute to Forman for his "engaging and effective use of social media". He said Forman had "demonstrated a determination to share his great grandmother’s story with a global audience".[17]

Awards

In November 2021, Forman received the Points of Light award from the UK Prime Minister at 10 Downing Street, for services to Holocaust education.[18][19]

In March 2022, Forman - alongside his great-grandmother Ebert - was presented with the Jewish Care community award by Andrew Neil at the Jewish Care Topland annual community business lunch, hosted by the Topland Group.[20]

In July 2025, Forman was included in the inaugural TIME100 Creators list, which recognised 100 of the most influential digital creators worldwide.[21]

Also in 2025, Forman was selected for the inaugural Masa Changemakers List, honouring 18 global leaders from Masa’s 200,000+ alumni. Forman was a Masa participant during his time in Israel as a Nitzavim Fellow, studying at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and a Talmudic college in Jerusalem.[22][23]

References

  1. ^ "Tributes paid to Holocaust survivor Lily Ebert after death aged 100". ITV London. Retrieved 7 April 2025.
  2. ^ Rosa, Joanne (27 January 2022). "Auschwitz survivor and great-grandson teach TikTok about realities of Holocaust "She's a fighter," Dov Forman said of his great-grandmother, Lily Ebert". ABC News. ABC. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
  3. ^ Papakyriakopoulou, Katerina (29 July 2025). "SSEES Student Named Among TIME's 100 Most Influential Content Creators | Faculty of Arts and Humanities". www.ucl.ac.uk. Retrieved 31 July 2025.
  4. ^ Balls, Katy (2 April 2025). "Robert Jenrick is the talk of the Tory party". The Spectator. Archived from the original on 6 April 2025. Retrieved 21 April 2025.
  5. ^ Bonyhady, Nick (18 July 2025). "Why isn't there a single social media-savvy MP in Parliament?". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 13 August 2025.
  6. ^ FORMAN, Dov (27 August 2021). "The forgotten gift that led a Holocaust survivor to the US soldier who helped her 76 years ago When Lily Ebert, 97, was liberated from a work camp, a US soldier wrote a message of hope on a banknote; it restored her faith in humanity". The Telegraph. The Telegraph. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
  7. ^ Swerling, Hannah (3 October 2021). "Holocaust survivor Lily Ebert, 97, and her great-grandson on how she became a TikTok star The Auschwitz survivor and Dov Forman discuss family, anti-semitism and the power of sharing her story online". The Sunday Times Magazine - Relative Values. The Times and Sunday Times. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
  8. ^ Forman, Dov (12 October 2024). "Lily Ebert taught us how to live again". www.thetimes.com. Retrieved 7 April 2025.
  9. ^ "From Auschwitz to TikTok: how Lily Ebert inspired millions - opinion". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. 26 January 2025. Retrieved 7 April 2025.
  10. ^ Butterworth, Benjamin (27 January 2022). "The Holocaust survivor sharing her amazing story on TikTok, with help from her great-grandson". IPaper. INews. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
  11. ^ "Macmillan 02 September 2021 9781529073409 320 pages Share this book with your friends and family Lily's Promise by Lily Ebert Dov Forman". Pan Macmillan. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
  12. ^ Mendel, Jack (28 July 2021). "Prince Charles to write foreword for book by Shoah survivor & her great-grandson Heir to the throne will introduce 'Lily's Promise' by 97-year-old Auschwitz survivor Lily Ebert and her 17-year-old great-grandson Dov Forman". Jewish News UK. Jewish News. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
  13. ^ Edwards, Jonathan (1 February 2022). "A 98-year-old Holocaust survivor built a massive TikTok following to combat deniers: 'It happened'". Washington Post. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
  14. ^ "Lily's Promise Holding On to Hope Through Auschwitz and Beyond—A Story for All Generations". HarperCollins. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
  15. ^ Egan, Elisabeth (26 May 2022). "Dov Forman Wants You to Know His Great-Grandmother's Holocaust Story". The New York Times. Retrieved 29 May 2022.
  16. ^ Forman, Dov (7 April 2025). "Dov Forman - book: LinkedIn, Experience". LinkedIn.com. Retrieved 7 April 2025.
  17. ^ HRH The Prince of Wales, Prince Charles (27 August 2021). "Foreword, Lily's Promise". The Telegraph. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
  18. ^ Mendel, Jack (1 December 2021). "Prime Minister honours teen who co-wrote great-grandmother's Auschwitz memoir 'This is the signal for me and Lily to keep going, and to spread Lily's messages and Holocaust testimony even further', said Dov Forman, 17". Jewish News UK. Jewish News. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
  19. ^ "Lily's Promise 1800. Dov Forman Dov Forman, aged 17, from London, is the great-grandson of Auschwitz survivor, Lily Ebert, who co-authored her written testimony of the Holocaust and has reached millions of young people on social media, educating them about the horrors of the Holocaust". Prime Minister's Office 10 Downing Street. Points of Light. 29 November 2021. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
  20. ^ Frot, Mathilde (10 March 2022). "Record turnout at Jewish Care charity lunch". Jewish Chronicle UK. Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  21. ^ "The 100 Most Influential Creators of 2025". TIME. 9 July 2025. Retrieved 13 August 2025.
  22. ^ "Meet the changemakers: Mission to share Holocaust survivor's story reaches a billion people". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. 6 February 2025. Retrieved 21 April 2025.
  23. ^ "First steps of a long journey". 6 February 2025. Retrieved 21 April 2025.
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