This Holocaust Depiction Hits Different
Or, why I appreciate "We Are The Lucky Ones." (Spoiler Free)
I won't say I have consumed every form of Holocaust-themed media, but I have enough knowledge of the type of content that is put out there to recognize that much of the most popular Holocaust books, movies, etc., fail to capture the full nature of this horrific chapter in human history.
Namely, the Holocaust content I am aware of tends to focus on the Jews has hopeless victims or the non-Jewish saviors, often both tropes intertwining with one another. This is probably because Holocaust stories are often told through a non-Jewish lense and meant (if not directly) to assuage non-Jewish guilt.
We Were The Lucky Ones, at least from what I cleaned from the first few episodes is different.
I did not read the book, however, trying to avoid learning the full story of her family, I discovered that author Georgia Hunter, who was not raised Jewish, found out she was related to Holocaust survivors.
To me, that places her in a distinct and special category from which to speak about the Holocaust. Having only learned about her familial connection to the event at the age of 15, and raised outside of the Jewish faith and culture, she has the unique ability to be both a thoughtful observer of history and one who is part of the story.
As for the series, I don't know how well it follows the book. So far at least, I value the depth of the characters and the effort put in to show that they were full-fledged humans with normal, everyday worries, before a fascist dictator with the goal of annihilation came to power.
Without revealing too many details of what happened in the episodes I have watched, I can say that the series succeeds in a major way.
It demonstrates that means and/or connections did not save Jews from persecution in World War 2.
If there's one thing that gets me most about people (read: Antisemites) “take” on Jews is this idea that our collective privilege and perceived economic success protects us from hatred and violence. The Kurc family, the central figures of We Were The Lucky Ones, may not have been the wealthiest people in Poland, but they had means. In the first episode, the family gathers to celebrate Passover at the home of Nechuma and Sol Kurc. The two welcome their children into their immaculate apartment and sit down for the seder meal served on fine China. The episode makes clear that Nechuma and Sol are respected and valued members of society.
But does that help them or their family? (Take a wild guess).
Because a large portion of the series is spent showing how good (well relatively good) life was for the Kurc family the inevitable unraveling of their lives has a greater impact than if these facts were glosses over.
As I still have five more episodes to watch, I may come away from the series with a different opinion than I have now. Still, I am compelled to believe my feelings will stand.