We Were the Lucky Ones

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2017

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Part 2, Chapters 39-43Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Part 2, Chapter 39 Summary: “Addy, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - January 1943”

Addy returns to Rio from his job in Minas Gerais and goes immediately to the post office. His hopes are dashed when there are no letters from his family waiting for him. To keep from speculating on the fate of his family, Addy goes to the library and researches foreign newspapers. Some reports called Hitler’s actions an effort to eradicate the Jews in Europe, with unthinkably high numbers of deaths, while other articles said these numbers were exaggerated and that Jews were being persecuted, not exterminated. Addy feels frustrated by the lack of attention shown in Brazil to the fate of Europe’s Jews.

Addy goes to meet Eliska for lunch. She came Minas to visit him once, but things did not go well. Eliska cried when Addy told her that he could not stop worrying about his family, and she asked what he would do if he never found them: “Addy had hated hearing those words and what they implied, had resented her for saying them, even though they were the same questions he asked of himself” (260). It was clear that they would never be able to marry and build a full life under these conditions. Addy realized that Eliska was not crying for him, but for herself.

Addy sits down in the cafe where he is to meet Eliska, who has not arrived yet. He wonders if they will break off their engagement and what will come next for them. Addy takes his notebook out and starts composing a new piece, inspired by his thoughts of his family and Eliska.

Part 2, Chapter 40 Summary: “Mila, Warsaw, German-Occupied Poland - January 1943”

Mila is walking with Edgar, the little boy she cares for. She has been working, under the name Iza Kremski, for a Nazi family named. The Bäckers live in a Warsaw apartment that the Germans took from a Jewish family. Mila cleans, prepares meals, and takes Edgar out on walks. Although it is heartbreaking for Mila to be away from Felicia, this job is an improvement over her recent past.

Edgar has noticed that they are not taking their usual route to the park. Mila risks him telling his parents because she is using the opportunity to meet Edith, a seamstress who also works for the Bäckers:

Mila couldn’t help but suspect that Edith was also a Jew posing as an Aryan, a hunch that was confirmed when Edith mentioned casually that she grew up just east of Okopowa Street—an area Mila recognized immediately as the Jewish quarter, now part of the city’s ghetto (262).

Edith knows of a convent outside Warsaw that might accept Felicia. They could not discuss it at work, so Edith gave Mila her address and told her to come by when her neighbors were not at home. Mila tells Edgar that they are going to visit Edith. At Edith’s apartment, Mila asks in Polish about the convent. Edith tells her that it is about 80 kilometers away and that she has written to them about a child in need. Mila thanks her, and at Edgar’s insistence, they leave to go to the park as planned.

The following day, Mila senses something is wrong as soon as she arrives at the Bäcker apartment. Frau Bäcker is waiting for her, visibly angry, and wants to know why Mila stopped at the seamstress’s house. Mila quickly makes up a story about needing a new skirt, but Frau Bäcker does not believe Mila and becomes agitated. She accuses Mila of lying about her identity. Mila forces herself to remain calm and says that she will get Frau Bäcker a glass of water. As Mila turns, Frau Bäcker throws a vase and strikes her in the back of the head.

Mila dizzily stands and goes to get a broom. Frau Bäcker apologizes and mutters to herself as Mila sweeps up the broken glass. Mila says that she is going to the dairy: “And as quietly as she’d come, she leaves, without any intention of returning” (266).

Part 2, Chapter 41 Summary: “Bella, Warsaw, German-Occupied Poland - January 1943”

Bella and Jakob have been in Warsaw for six months, as it was impossible to stay in Radom. There were few jobs, and they were at risk of being recognized. Bella’s parents were to Treblinka as they had feared.

Bella hoped that moving to Warsaw would help relieve her sadness over losing her family, but she thinks of them constantly. When she sees families, sisters, mothers, and daughters, Bella recalls her lost loved ones: “She was heartsick, and hated the way Jakob asked her, constantly, if she was all right, the way he was always trying to coax a bit of food into her mouth” (268). Bella desperately wants to come back to herself, for Jakob’s sake, but she cannot eat, sleep, or stop wondering how she could have saved her parents and sister from death.

Bella becomes so thin that her clothes are falling off her body: “It was then that she realized she was in trouble, that Jakob was right. She needed to eat. To take care of herself” (268). She resolves to go through the motions of daily life, even when her grief feels too great to bear, for Jakob’s sake.

Part 2, Chapter 42 Summary: “Mila and Felicia, Warsaw, German-Occupied Poland - February 1943”

Mila is taking Felicia to live at the convent, despite Felicia’s reluctance to go there: “Though Felicia was desperate for company, it was her mother’s companionship she craved. She hated the fact that Mila would once again be leaving her” (270). Felicia is posing as a Catholic, so she dyes her hair and changes her name. One of the nuns becomes suspicious and brings Felicia before the Mother Superior, who insists that she has known Felicia’s family for years and says that she must be treated the same as the other children. The Mother Superior keeps an eye on Felicia, giving her extra food and shielding her from the older girls’ bullying.

Although the convent allows Mila a weekly visit and it is not a scheduled visit day, Mila waits at the fence outside the convent garden to catch a glimpse of Felicia. Felicia sees her and secretively pretends to tie her shoelace by the fence: “She peers between her legs at her mother, and, knowing the others can’t see, waves” (271). This small moment of connection makes them both feel a bit better about their separation. Felicia is in a safe place with happy children, a thought which comforts Mila.

Part 2, Chapter 43 Summary: “Genek, Tel Aviv, Palestine - February 1943”

Genek has been suffering from stomach pain for a long time, and now it has returned. When they were in Tehran, the pain was severe, but Genek didn’t wanted to bother the one medic available there. Now, in Palestine, Herta insists that Genek sees one of the many British doctors there: “Please, Genek, go see someone, before it’s too late. Don’t let something that could have been fixed bring you down now, after all that we’ve been through” (272). The doctor diagnoses Genek with an ulcer. As he waits for the doctor, Genek thinks about being sick when he was a child, how his mother doted on him, and how it’s been three and a half years since he was home.

As he daydreams about his family, imagining Herta and Józef there as well, Genek remembers a conversation he overheard the week before. Some Polish officers were discussing reports they heard of Jewish camps and ghettos being liquidated, of millions killed. Genek cannot openly ask for details since he is living as a Catholic, but he fears for his family.

Amid the din of the medical tent, Genek suddenly hears a familiar voice. With a shock, Genek calls out Selim’s name and rushes to embrace his brother-in-law. After they exchange happy greetings, Genek asks if Selim has heard from the family. Selim says that he was going to ask the same of Genek, that his letters have gone unanswered. The two briefly tell each other where they have been since they last met. Selim has been working as a medic.

Before Selim returns to his patients, Genek tells him that he plans to write to the Red Cross and insists that they go together to fill out forms and send telegrams. Selim agrees, which heartens Genek. They will send telegrams to Red Cross offices all over Europe, the Middle East, and the Americas: “Surely, if the others are alive, they’ll have been in touch with the location services as well” (277).

Part 2, Chapters 39-43 Analysis

Separations and reunions abound in these chapters, with the theme of family at the fore. Addy’s separation from his family, now in its fourth year, continues to weigh heavy on his mind, especially as he searches for news from back home: “The fate of Europe’s Jews, apparently, attracted little attention in Brazil. But for Addy, it was all he could think about” (259). Addy’s heartbreak over not knowing if his family is safe, plus Eliska’s inability to accept this element of Addy’s reality, dooms them to separation as well: “Eliska knew as well as he did that as long as his family was missing, he would never be able to commit himself fully to building a life with her—to put his whole heart into loving her” (260). Addy turns to music, a prominent motif, and begins composing again. This symbolizes his attempts to feel connected to not only the Kurcs, but to the future family he hopes to build with Eliska.

After the soldiers storm Felicia’s safe house, Mila is determined to find a place to keep her daughter safe, even if they must be separated. An opportunity presents itself when Mila meets another Jewish woman posing as an Aryan: “When Mila told her about Felicia, Edith mentioned a Catholic convent outside of town that might be accepting orphaned children” (262). This solution turns out to be a good one, as clearly the Mother Superior is genuinely committed to keeping Felicia’s identity as a Jew hidden: “Felicia is surprised to hear the conviction in the Mother Superior’s voice as she snaps, ‘I’ve known this child’s family for a long time. We treat her like the rest’” (270). Although it pains both Mila and Felicia to separate, the promise of Felicia’s safety comforts Mila.

Because of her deep grief, Bella has been keeping herself emotionally separate from Jakob, and from life itself: “For weeks, Bella couldn’t sleep. She couldn’t think. She couldn’t eat. […] ‘Come back to me, love,’ he would plead. ‘You seem so far away.’ But she couldn’t” (267). After several months, Bella is shaken out of her grieving stupor by realizing that she is wasting away: “She’d been mourning so deeply she’d forgotten what it meant to love the man who, before her world came crashing down, was her everything. She vowed to try to pull herself together” (268). Bella resolves to work herself out of her haze of grief so that she can truly be with Jakob again.

The most incredible reunion of these chapters occurs for Genek, in an army camp in Palestine. He, like Addy, hears about the horrific news coming from Europe, hinting at mass killings of Jews: “Please, he prays, let the numbers be an exaggeration. Let the family be safe. Please” (274). The long separation from his family and complete lack of knowledge about their fate is excruciating. Therefore, the unexpected reunion with Selim brings great joy to Genek: “Seeing his brother-in-law has ignited something in him—a mix of hope and longing. Perhaps this is a good sign. Perhaps if Selim is alive, the others are, too” (275).