We Were the Lucky Ones

Herta is gathering wood, her 4-month-old baby boy named Józef tied to her with a bedsheet. She stops to nurse, watching Genek and others pile logs by the nearby river. The summer heat is intense, but Herta feels blessed to have a healthy baby at her breast.

Józef was born in the middle of March, on the frozen dirt floor of their barracks. The baby was healthy and gained weight despite the terrible lack of food in the camp: “The only real trouble came in the mornings, when Józef would wake wailing, his eyes frozen shut” (164).

Now Herta wishes she could tell her family in Bielsko about the baby and hear news from them as well. The last letter she received from her brother arrived before the soldiers took Herta and Genek from Lvov. Her brother described how most Jews left the town, how he had wanted to leave as well but their parents refused and their sister was too pregnant to travel. As much as Herta wants the war to end so that she can return home, she fears what the future holds.

At the end of the day, Herta walks back to the barracks. Genek is there, looking excited, and he tells her that news has come that the Soviets may grant them amnesty. Genek heard some guards saying that they might be moved south to form an army. Herta wonders what crime they’ve committed to require amnesty, and why Genek should fight for the Soviets: “Herta tries to picture it: Genek, suited up alongside the Soviets, fighting for Stalin—for the man who’d put them in exile, condemned them to a life of labor” (166). Genek looks hopeful, so Herta does not voice her concerns.

Addy awakens from a dream about his family, then dresses and goes for a walk. He gathers some beautiful Brazilian flowers and carries them back to the cafeteria, where he waits for Eliska and Madame Lowbeer.

The trio successfully made it to Cádiz, where there was a ship bound for Brazil in a week. The ticket agent was unsure if they would be allowed to travel with expired visas, but they boarded anyway. They disembarked in Rio, but Brazilian police later took and held them on this offshore island.

Addy remains confident that things will work out: “He refuses to believe that, after six months, he’ll end up where he began, in war-torn Europe” (169). Addy believes that Eliska’s uncle will manage to secure their stay. A former passenger from the Alsina has a relative with ties to Brazil’s foreign minister. Addy himself has no connections, no means of helping at this point. It is difficult for Addy to admit that he has no control over their fate.

Addy thinks of Eliska, about their desire to be married, and he wonders what his family will think. Addy thinks that his father and siblings would approve, but that his mother would object because Addy has not been honest with Eliska: He has not shared his fears about his family’s fate. He has not told her how his separation from his family has caused him immense pain. Addy cannot imagine his life without Eliska, so he has kept this all to himself.

Jakob, Bella, Franka, and Franka’s parents and brother are hiding in a truck, stopped just outside of Radom. The ride from Lvov has gone without incident, but now they hear German voices shouting for the truck to stop.

Jakob wraps his arm around Bella, who does not appear fearful. Since Anna’s disappearance, Bella has barely spoken. She resisted returning to Radom, saying she needed to find Anna. Bella went to all the German detention camps around Lvov but could find no record of Anna. A former neighbor finally told Bella that soldiers took Anna and her husband to the forest outside the city, where farmers who lived nearby heard gunshots late into the night.

Now, Jakob plans to offer the German soldiers his camera as a bribe, but suddenly the truck lurches forward and swerves. There are angry German voices shouting and bullets fly through the truck compartment, inches from Jakob’s head. The truck continues, and there is no more gunfire. Jakob prays that they are now safe and that life in Radom will be better than what they left: “It’s hard to imagine it could be any worse. They would be near family, at least. What’s left of it” (173).

Beside him, Bella painfully thinks that if they make it to Radom alive, she will have to tell her parents what has happened to their youngest daughter. Bella remembers how she grew up thinking about living near Anna, about their children growing up together. Just before the pogrom, Anna hinted that she had exciting news. Now, this will never happen: “Fresh tears run along the curve of Bella’s jaw as she swallows this cold, incomprehensible truth” (174).