Prince Charles has written the foreword to the upcoming memoir of Holocaust survivor Lily Ebert, which she co-penned with her great-grandson Dov Forman. In his message, the Prince of Wales spoke about the power Holocaust survivors have to “transform history into memory” and making what may already appear like a distant past “present”.

In his foreword, Prince Charles recalled the many occasions he has had to speak to survivors about the horrors perpetrated by Nazis.

Among them, he included an event in 2015 where he was joined by survivors, including Ms Ebert, to light six remembrance candles as part of the National Holocaust Memorial Day Ceremony.

He wrote: “The joint lighting of the candles was a recognition that the responsibility of memory is slowly but surely passing from the survivors to our generation, and to future generations not yet born.

“It symbolised the need for us to be fearless in confronting falsehoods and resolute in resisting words and acts of violence.”

Prince Charles went on highlighting the work the testimony of Ms Ebert can do to keep the memory of the Holocaust alive.

He wrote: “In the depths of Auschwitz, Lily made herself a promise that if she survived, she would dedicate the rest of her life to ensuring the world knew what happened during the Holocaust.

“This book, which so powerfully captures her testimony, represents the fulfilment of that promise and the culmination of a lifetime of service to the human conscience.

“We would all do well to make Lily’s history our memory.”

READ MORE: Queen Windsor return confirmed as details of 1st autumn meeting emerge

In his message, Charles also mentioned his grandmother and Prince Philip‘s mother, Princess Alice of Greece, who was among those who put their own lives at risk to save Jewish people during the Nazi regime of terror.

His words on the importance of keeping the truth about the Holocaust alive as its survivors pass on their memories to their children and grandchildren appear to echo a similar plea made by his father Prince Philip almost three decades ago.

In October 1994, Philip delivered a poignant address at Jerusalem’s Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum.

He said: “We may dislike individual people, we may disagree with their politics and opinions, but that should never allow us to condemn their whole community simply because of the race or religion of its members.

DON’T MISS 

This, it seems to me, is the essential message of this memorial.

“It is a message that all of us who were alive at the time of the Holocaust fully understand.

“But it is only too apparent that this message needs to get through to present and future generations of all races and religions.

“The Holocaust may be over, but there are altogether too many examples in the world today of man’s capacity for inhumanity.

“The Holocaust was the most horrific event in all Jewish history, and it will remain in the memory of all future generations.”

Much like Prince Charles in the foreword of Ms Ebert and Mr Forman’s book, Prince Philip recalled his mother’s selfless act.

In 1943, Princess Alice of Greece sheltered three members of the Cohen family during the Nazi occupation of Greece, effectively saving them from being sent to a concentration camp.

However, Prince Philip said in his message, she never mentioned helping this family.

The late Duke of Edinburgh, who died aged 99 in April, said: “In retrospect, this reticence may seem strange, but I suspect that it never occurred to her that her action was in any way special.

“She would have considered it to be a perfectly natural human reaction to fellow beings in distress.

“You must also bear in mind that she had been well aware of the Nazi persecution of the Jews for many years.”

Princess Alice has been recognised as one of the ‘Righteous Among the Nations’ at the Holocaust museum in Jerusalem.

During his visit to the city in January 2020, Prince Charles paid tribute to Princess Alice while taking part in a forum at the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial centre.