We Were the Lucky Ones

We Were the Lucky Ones, written by Georgia Hunter and published in 2017, is a historical novel based on the actual experiences of the author’s family during World War II. Hunter’s grandfather, Addy Kurc, came from a family of Jews in Radom, Poland. The book follows the story of Addy, his parents Nechuma and Sol, and his siblings Genek, Mila, Jakob, and Halina, along with their spouses, as they struggle to survive the Holocaust and reunite after the war. Each chapter unfolds from the perspective of one of the family members, with brief historical information prefacing many of the chapters and timeline data from the war.

In March 1939, Addy Kurc is living in Toulouse, just outside of Paris. He reads a letter from his mother Nechuma, who tells him that conditions are worsening in Radom, as the threat of war with the Nazis looms over Poland. Addy tries to return to Radom for Passover, but passing through German-held territory is impossible.

In Radom, the Kurc family gathers for Passover. Nechuma and her husband Sol come together with the rest of their family: their eldest son Genek and his wife, Herta; their daughter Mila, her husband Selim, and baby Felicia; their son Jakob; and the youngest child, their daughter Halina.

When war breaks out, Genek, Jakob, and Selim all enlist in the Polish Army, which the Germans, with Soviets aid, swiftly defeat. Selim disappears, and Jakob and Genek remain in Lvov, which is under Soviet authority. Nechuma, Sol, Mila, and Halina are still living in Radom, which is under German occupation. Conditions there deteriorate for those of Jewish descent. Soldiers seize their property and force them to live in ghettos where they must work under arduous conditions. Meanwhile, Addy joins the Polish contingent of the French Army.

Jakob’s girlfriend Bella joins him in Lvov, and they secretly marry. Soldiers apprehend Genek and his wife Herta in Lvov and send them to a labor camp in Siberia, where Herta gives birth to their son Józef, in dire conditions. Addy decides to escape from Europe and manages to acquire a visa to Brazil, one of the only places still issuing visas to Jews. Halina and her cousin Franka brave crossing a frigid river and encountering German soldiers to make it to Lvov. Halina marries Adam, who has become a major contributor to the Polish Underground.

Addy meets a Czechoslovakian woman named Eliska on the ship to Brazil and falls in love. They become stranded in Dakar when British authorities refuse to let their ship proceed. Addy desperately worries about his family, as the news reports of what is happening to Jews in Poland sound perilous. Eliska will not listen to Addy’s fears about his family, as she does not want to discuss negative things.

The Germans and Soviets break their alliance, and Lvov falls under German occupation. There are pogroms (organized massacres) against Jews, and soldiers slaughter many in the streets. Jakob, Bella, Halina, and Franka hide in a basement. The Germans take away Bella’s family members, and she fears their deaths. Adam dispatches to a labor camp outside Lvov, and Halina bribes a guard to release him.

Addy makes it to Brazil, where he and Eliska decide to call off their engagement, as he feels that he cannot think of the future while his family is still missing. Genek and Herta secure release from the camp in Siberia. They travel to Tashkent with others intending to join the Polish Home Army, though the Soviets give them no rations along the way and they almost starve. Genek finds he must lie and say that he is a Christian to join the Polish Army.

In Radom, conditions grow even worse, and Mila fears for Felicia’s safety. Mila applies for a program that claims it will send educated Jews to America. This turns out to be a cruel trick, as the SS forces Mila and the other people aboard the train to dig their own graves. Mila manages to bribe a German officer, and she and Felicia return to Radom. Mila decides that she must get them out of the ghetto, so she smuggles Felicia out under her coat. They join Halina, who is living in Warsaw, under an assumed name, as a Christian. Jakob and Bella escape from the factory where they have been working outside Radom and relocate to Warsaw as well. Halina finds a Polish couple in the countryside who is willing accept payment to take in Sol and Nechuma. They have a hidden compartment installed in their home and use it to conceal hideaways. Mila takes Felicia to live in a convent away from Warsaw, where she hopes she will be safe for the duration of the war.

Genek and Herta make it to Tehran, where the Polish Home Army has gathered. Genek and the other Poles are badly malnourished and suffering from disease, due to the inadequate rations given by the Soviets in Tashkent. In Persia, British forces give them proper supplies and time to recuperate. They then transfer to Palestine, where Genek reunites with Selim, who is a medic in the camp. Genek tells Selim that they should go together to register with the Red Cross, in the hope of finding the rest of the family. Genek then dispatches to fight in Italy.

The Germans intensely bomb Warsaw, and Bella and Jakob hide in a basement. Halina and Adam emerge safely after the bombings, but they cannot locate Franka and her family. Mila eventually finds Felicia alive in the convent’s bunker, which the bombers also hit.

Authorities arrest Halina as she tries to go to Kraków to seek help from her former employer. They accuse her of being Jewish and subsequently imprison and severely beat her. For almost four months, the soldiers interrogate and torture her, but they finally release her when the German prison authorities contact her employer, who vouches for her. Halina returns to Warsaw and is finally able to see that her parents remain safe in the countryside.

When Germany surrenders and the war is over, the Kurc family is living in Łódź. Halina receives a telegram at the Red Cross office from Genek, who says that he is in Italy with Selim. Jakob and Bella plan to emigrate to America, sponsored by Bella’s uncle, so they travel to a Displaced Persons camp in Stuttgart, Germany. From there they will be able to obtain visas and board a ship for America. Halina, Mila, Felicia, Nechuma, and Sol travel to Bari, Italy, capped by a hike over the Alps, and reunite with Genek and Selim.

Addy marries an American woman named Caroline, who works at the embassy in Rio. Addy is thrilled to receive a telegram from Genek, who located him on the Red Cross list. With Caroline’s help, Addy brings his entire family, except for Jakob and Bella, to live with them in Rio. They celebrate their first Passover together since the start of the war and rejoice at having survived so much.

Following the main story, Hunter recounts how her maternal grandfather was Addy Kurc, though she grew up knowing him as “Eddy Courts.” She did not know until she was 15, after he died, that he and his family were Holocaust survivors from Poland. Hunter shares how she came to learn her family’s stories from the war and why she decided to author this book.