We Were the Lucky Ones Author Georgia Hunter Felt ‘Like My Ancestors Were There With Me’ on Set of New TV Series (Exclusive)

When author Georgia Hunter thinks of her grandfather, Eddy, music comes to mind. “Either he was holding the keys of the piano or he was composing for the rest of his life,” she tells PEOPLE. beautiful art and textiles, and I later learned that he made a lot of it by hand.” Eddy, who later in life changed his name from Addy, served as an inspiration for We were the lucky ones, Hunter’s ambitious, poignant novel based on her family’s experiences during World War II. The book, published by Viking in 2017, was adapted into a TV show starring Joey King and Logan Lerman. It premieres on Hulu on March 28.

‘We were the lucky ones’ by Georgia Hunter.

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Hunter, an only child, grew up with Eddy, who died of Parkinson’s disease in 1993. She shared memories of him in the novel’s author’s note — his talent as a pianist and composer, his knowledge of multiple languages, banishing ketchup from his house. Despite the time they spent together, Hunter says there are parts of her grandfather’s life that he didn’t share with her. “People say, ‘Really? You didn’t know it was [a] Holocaust survivor? He never talked about being raised Jewish or growing up in Poland?” she says. “Looking back, I can see some of them [kinds] quirks, if you will — his Europeanness and his resourcefulness. But I didn’t think about it at the time.” Ahead of the series premiere, Hunter sat down with PEOPLE to discuss the novel, its extensive research process and the importance of her family’s story.

Family Historian

Georgia Hunter.

Courtesy of Hulu/Disney

We were the lucky ones follows the Kurc family, whose five adult children – Genek, Mila, Addy, Jakob and Halina – end up scattered around the world during the Holocaust. Told in alternating perspectives, the novel depicts the persistence of the siblings, as well as their parents, Sol and Nechuma, and their spouses, to find their way back to each other. For Hunter, the seed for the book was planted with a high school English assignment on family history. This prompted her to learn more about Eddy’s experiences during World War II, such as how he was living in France when the conflict began. Later, Hunter learned more about how his parents and four siblings survived, against all odds.

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“I went into this particular project as a family historian, not really as an author,” Hunter says. “I had never written a book before, so in 2008 I set out to dig up and record the family story.” During a nearly decade-long research process, Hunter would interview family members and Holocaust scholars around the world, spend time digging through archives and libraries, and visit her family’s hometown of Radom, Poland, to uncover stories that one publisher told her were almost too unusual. to believe in them.

A scene from ‘We Were Lucky’ with Moran Rosenblatt as Herta and Henry Lloyd-Hughes as Geneko.

Vlad Cioplea/Hulu

Hunter would learn, for example, that her cousin, Józef, was born in a Siberian labor camp and that his mother used her breast milk to protect his eyes from freezing in harsh weather. A secret wedding was held in a darkened house. Hunter’s cousin, Adam, who was living in Warsaw with false papers, found a way to hide the fact that he was circumcised from his landlord who accused him of being Jewish. “I remember laughing together with Ricardo, [Adam’s] son, who was telling the story, and then when it came time to write that scene, he realized, ‘Oh my God, there was nothing funny about that moment,'” Hunter says. “This was a life or death moment.”

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Writing the novel, in which most of the characters are named after members of Hunter’s family, became even more emotional for Hunter after becoming a mother herself early in the writing process. She particularly resonated with Mila, who was raising her young daughter Felicia during the war. Mila had to go to extremes to protect Felicia, like hiding in a bag of scraps of fabric while Mila worked at the factory and temporarily sending Felicia to live in the alliance under a false name. “I just couldn’t get over it. what it would take for her to have the courage and ability to go on day after day and make decisions over and over again about her daughter and her safety,” Hunter says.

“I felt like my ancestors were there with me”

Logan Lerman (left), Robin Weigert (center) and Thomas Kail (second from right) on the set of ‘We Were the Lucky Ones’.

Vlad Cioplea/Hulu

Hunter admits that the TV adaptation of the novel still feels surreal. She worked on the series together with host Erica Lipez and director Thomas Kail, who encouraged her to participate in every step of the creative process. Although she wasn’t working on the teleplay, Hunter spent every day in the script room and readily provided family artifacts to the props team. “I had photos, I had some music,” Hunter says. “Logan [Lerman] he carries the same snakeskin wallet that my grandfather carried, and Robin [Weigert]who plays Nechuma, wears the same brooch that my great-grandmother wore.”

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The research paid off — Hunter recalls seeing the set for the family apartment in Radom for the first time and being shocked by its precision, down to details like the etched glass on the dining room door.

A scene from “We Were Lucky”, where the Kurc family celebrates Pesach.

Vlad Cioplea/Hulu

“I remember walking in and it felt like I was going back in time, and I just started crying,” Hunter says. “I felt like my ancestors were there with me.”

The cast, whose main actors are all Jewish, were also curious to learn more about the people they portray. “There were a lot of questions about trying to get to the heart of who these people were,” Hunter says. “They really just wanted to get to know their relatives on a very personal level and [asked] questions that you will never see in the script or appear in the show: ‘What were their flaws? Did their parents sing them a special lullaby? What did they like to read? What kind of parents are they today?’”

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“I just feel like they’ve done such a beautiful job bringing them to life in the most authentic way,” she adds.

I’m looking forward

Georgia Hunter (left), Joey King, Logan Lerman (center), Erica Lipez and Thomas Kail.

Courtesy of Hulu/Disney

Along with the Hulu series, Hunter is currently working with educators to create curriculum We were the lucky ones. He wants to help students learn both about the development of the novel and about the historical period itself. “When I started in 2008, I didn’t think the story would be so relevant,” says Hunter. “It seems like history is repeating itself…there is no longer an important time to share Holocaust stories.” The author is also preparing a new book, One good thing, should be released in 2025. It’s another WWII drama, this time set in Italy.

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Georgia Hunter.

Andrea Carson

“I felt like the Holocaust in Italy was a little less known and less understood than Poland and what was happening in Eastern Europe,” she says.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. WITH We were the lucky oneshowever, Hunter emphasizes that there is more to the history of a family like hers than tragedy. “There are very dark moments, but there are also births and making music and romances,” she says. “Hearing the lighter parts from family members really helped me fit those lighter moments into the story, which helped me as the author get through it emotionally, and I think it helps the reader as well. The balance of light in the dark.”

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Source: HIS Education