We Were The Lucky Ones Is Based On A Bestselling WWII Novel

Hulu’s We Were the Lucky Ones is based on Georgia Hunter’s 2017 book of the same name, and it's rooted in her real-life family history about surviving the Holocaust. As Hunter explains in the book, her grandfather didn’t talk much about his experience during World War II. However, she learned pieces of his past following his death in 1993 and decided to put the Kurcs’ story to paper.

“I remember walking in and feeling like I was stepping back in time, and I just started crying,” Hunter told People of seeing the show’s set for the first time. “I felt like my ancestors were there with me.”

Here’s a plot summary of We Were the Lucky Ones, which begins on the eve of Passover in 1939 and follows the children of Poland-based Sol and Nechuma Kurc as the war takes them in different directions.

Addy Flees Europe

Addy (the author’s real-life grandfather) is 25 years old and living in France when he receives word from his mom not to come home for Passover due to worsening conditions. When war begins, he is ordered to join the French Army. However, he is able to procure a visa to Brazil and meets a woman, Eliska, en route. They’re briefly engaged but break up shortly after arriving in their new home, after which Addy meets an American woman, Caroline, with whom he starts a family.

Mila & Felicia Have A Harrowing Escape

While Mila’s husband, Selim, is away fighting with the Polish army, she lives in German-occupied Poland with her daughter, Felicia. One day, while performing forced labor, Mila seizes an opportunity for her and Felicia to escape a massacre. Mila temporarily sends her daughter to a convent for safety, and they reunite before the end of the war.

Genek & Herta Welcome A Son In Siberia

Genek, the eldest Kurc sibling, and his wife Herta are unwittingly expecting a child when they’re sent to a Siberian labor camp. They have their son, Jozef, there, before moving on as Genek signs up for the Polish army. In Palestine, Genek is treated by an army doctor who turns out to be the long-lost Selim.

Halina & Adam Bring The Family Together

Halina, the youngest of the Kurcs, is instrumental in procuring shelter for her siblings and parents during the war. She is imprisoned for four months, but her husband, Adam, helps track down their missing family members in her absence.

Jakob & Bella Find Love

Jakob and Bella are neighbors and childhood sweethearts who marry at the start of the war. They survive a harrowing bombing in Warsaw and soon welcome a son, Victor. While the rest of their family plans to convene in Italy before meeting Addy in Brazil, Jakob and Bella head to Chicago after the war.

The Kurcs Reunite

In early 1946, Addy receives a telegram that his family is well and alive. He arranges for them to reside in Brazil, and as soon as they procure visas, they reunite as a family for the first time since before the war.

We Were the Lucky Ones ends with a real-life epilogue from Hunter, explaining that much of the family remained in Brazil. Jakob and Bella (real name Maryla) stayed in Illinois, while Addy’s family settled in New England and welcomed more children — including the author’s own mother.