Hulu's We Were the Lucky Ones is adapted from Georgia Hunter's 2017 book of the same name and is rooted in her true family history of surviving the Holocaust. As Hunter explains in the book, her grandfather didn't talk much about his experiences during World War II. However, after his death in 1993, she learned about his past and decided to write the Kurk's story.
"I remember walking in and feeling like I was transported back in time, and I just started crying," Hunter told People about the first time he saw the show's set. “I feel like my ancestors are with me.”
The following is a synopsis of We Were the Lucky Ones, which begins on the eve of Passover in 1939 and follows Sol and Nechuma Kurc, the children of Sol and Nechuma Kurc, living in Poland during the war. stories that go in different directions.
Adi flees Europe
Eddie (the author's real-life grandfather) was 25 years old and living in France when he received notice from his mother that he could not return home for Passover due to a worsening condition. When the war began, he was ordered to join the French army. However, he obtained a visa to Brazil and met a woman named Aliska on the way. They were briefly engaged, but broke up shortly after arriving in their new home, before Eddie met and started a family with an American woman, Caroline.
Mira and Felicia undergo a harrowing escape
While Mila's husband Selim was away fighting in the Polish army, she lived with her daughter Felicia in German-occupied Poland. One day, while working as a forced laborer, Mira took a chance that allowed her and Felicia to escape a massacre. Mira temporarily sent her daughter to a convent for safety, and the two were reunited before the war ended.
Genek and Herta welcome a son in Siberia
Genek, the eldest of the Kurk siblings, and his wife Herta were inadvertently conceived while being sent to a Siberian labor camp. Their son Joseph was also there, and Genek signed up to join the Polish army and moved on. In Palestine, Genek received treatment from a military doctor, who turned out to be the long-lost Selim.
Halina and Adam lead family reunion
Halina, the youngest of the Kur, was instrumental in finding shelter for her siblings and parents during the war. She was imprisoned for four months, but her husband, Adam, helped search for her missing family members in her absence.
Jacob and Bella find love
Jacob and Bella were neighbors and childhood sweethearts who married at the start of the war. They survived a tragic explosion in Warsaw and soon welcomed a son, Victor. While the family planned to gather in Italy before traveling to Brazil to meet Addy, Jacob and Bella traveled to Chicago after the war.
Kur people reunited
In early 1946, Eddie received a telegram saying that his family was doing well. He arranged for them to live in Brazil, and once visas were obtained, they reunited as a family for the first time since before the war.
We Are the Lucky Ones ends with Hunter's real-life coda, explaining that most of the family still remains in Brazil. Jacob and Bella (real name Marilla) remained in Illinois, while Addie's family settled in New England and welcomed more children—including the author's own mother.
