We Were the Lucky Ones

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2017

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Themes

The Power of Family

The central theme of this novel is the importance and power of family. The members of the Kurc family are devoted to one another, and their key motivation throughout the trials of WWII revolves around trying to protect the family. Even through their darkest times, it is the love of family that sustains them.

Addy’s long-term separation from his family weighs heavily upon his heart and mind. Not knowing the fate of his family prevents Addy from looking to the future, making it impossible for him to find happiness with Eliska. One of the first traits that draws Addy to Caroline is how she understands how much his family means to him and how much he misses them. Addy draws strength from the handkerchief, a token that connects him to his family. Similarly, Addy turns to music, particularly the works of Polish composer Chopin, for comfort in his family’s absence.

The bond of family also compels the Kurcs in Europe to push themselves through hardships they would have not believed themselves capable of enduring. Halina refuses to endanger her family by admitting that she is a Jew in the Montelupich prison, so she suffers starvation and beatings. Genek volunteers for the Polish Army to ensure the safety of his family and fights in one of the bloodiest battles of the war. Mila devises a risky, terrifying plan to smuggle her daughter out of the Radom ghetto. In placing the safety of their family members above themselves, the individual Kurcs are able to draw power from their love, which ultimately results in their survival.

Some characters, such as Bella and Herta, suffer tremendously over the loss of their families of origin. However, they gain emotional healing again through their love of their children and husbands. This demonstrates that the power of family is unlimited. In the end, it is the abiding love of their family that carries all the Kurcs forward in building new lives.

The Importance of Home

A companion theme to family is home. At the beginning of the story, Sol and Nechuma’s apartment in Radom represents the comfort and security of home. It is where their children grew up and repeatedly return for holidays and special occasions. It is the center of their lives—the center of the wheel in which the children are spokes around it. When the Germans take over Radom, the Kurcs are forced out of their home and into the ghetto, which is a place to live, not a home. As the Kurcs continually relocate throughout the story, they have no real home and thus no sense of safety and belonging.

At the end of the story, Rio becomes the new home of Addy and the rest of the family, with the exception of Jakob and Bella. Because the family is together, they can build a new home there. To demonstrate that home is where the family is together, the Kurcs take turns playing the piano, a custom initiated in the Radom apartment prior to the war. However, instead of turning to Polish composers, they chose the work of a Brazilian composer. This signifies that Brazil, a place of safety, is the new Kurc home.

Survivor’s Luck During the Holocaust

The title of the novel We Were the Lucky Ones, reflects another theme of the story, which is luck. It seems improbable, if not impossible, for parents with five grown children to have them all, plus their spouses and children, survive the horrors of the Holocaust. Of the 30,000 Jews who lived in Radom at the start of the war, only 300 survived.

Nechuma reflects on this at the Passover Seder at the end of the story. She thinks about how incredible it was that all her children were spared, how chaos and death always seemed to be a half step behind them. There were so many instances of how it was only through sheer luck that they survived. The random help of others, coincidences, and snap decisions all led to life-saving results. As an adult, Felicia says, “It’s a miracle in many ways. […] We were the lucky ones” (394). This statement is so striking, so central to the overall story, that the author never forgot it and made it the title of her novel.

The Struggle to Survive in War-Torn Europe

Another major theme of the story is survival. The unprecedented horror of the Holocaust, with its express goal being the extermination of the Jews in Europe, brings inconceivable danger and hardship to the Kurcs. Finding work, enough food to eat, safety, and protection from future danger are all daily struggles. The Kurcs also continually witness or hear about the deaths and disappearances of other Jews, so they are constantly in a state of anxiety about what the next day will bring.

Near the end of the story, Mila wonders how she can function after the war is over. She does not know how to plan for the future, after so many years of being consumed by the pursuit of basic survival. The psychological effects of this trauma are long-term and appear to have stayed with Felicia into her adulthood.

On the other hand, the triumph of surviving such insurmountable odds can also engender a joy for life, an appreciation for happiness and safety. The author speculates that her grandfather (Addy) possessed a love and exuberance for life because of his gratitude for having survived so much.