“We Were the Lucky Ones”

by Georgia Hunter

REVIEW BY MEREDITH MCKINNIE

“Months later, in a different world, Nechuma will look back on this evening, the last Passover when they were nearly all together, and wish with every cell of her body that she could relive it.” 

The author Georgia Hunter grew up in the comfort of America with a quirky grandfather who loved music, valued education and loved her deeply. After his death, she asks her grandmother and extended family about his heritage and uncovers a family history of astonishing endurance, familial hardship, religious persecution, and inevitable luck before, during, and after World War II. Hunter’s account of her family’s Jewish history is astonishing, heartbreaking, and reminds us how fortunate we all are. 

Sol and Nechuma Kurc have made a good life in Poland before Hitler’s rise to prominence. Bound by their devotion to religion and commitment to family and tradition, the rumblings of a dictator across the border intent on annihilating Jews seems too far away. As the Germans eventually invade Poland, the Kurcs are scattered across the world, dodging Jewish ghettos, concentration camps, and religious extermination. The family relies on Addy’s longing for home, Halina’s fighting spirit and quick wit, Jakob’s kind heart, Mila’s devotion to her daughter, and Genek’s ability to withstand the Germans’ most vicious attacks. The Kurcs showcase a will to outlive the violence, defy the odds, and retain a sense of dignity. 

In the history books, we learn about the Holocaust. We know an evil man and powerful regime sought the destruction of an entire group of people, and largely succeeded because of our unwillingness to consider the unthinkable. This novel based on real events takes readers inside the reality of a world under siege, a war hard on everyone, but unfathomable for those it sought to destroy. The book is fast-paced and causes readers to quickly jump from page to page in anticipation of the next character’s move, as every decision is based on life or death. I dropped literal tears on the page, crying alongside the characters in each of their minor victories followed only by another mountain to climb with no promise of refuge. We see the war through the eyes of middle-aged parents who have seen uprising before and are convinced it will all blow over, young parents willing to risk it all for the promise of a future for their young children, and innocent eyes who know only bombs, bloodshed, and the scent of death, robbed of ignorance afforded to the young. 

This book is heartbreaking, but has a way of renewing a sense of spirit. In the last few chapters, I forgot my own problems, then realized they weren’t really problems, and remembered while for me this was a story, for the Kurcs and so many other families, this was the only hope of survival. It’s humbling to be reminded that those brave souls who survived the horror of all horrors called themselves “the lucky ones.”