If, like many of us, you are tuning in to Hulu’s new Holocaust drama, We Were the Lucky Ones, you might have noticed a recurring theme in the series: that even amid unparalleled adversity and struggle, faith—in family and in the future—can be a lifeline for survival.

The series is adapted from a book of the same name by Georgia Hunter, who based it on her research into her own relatives’ experiences. We Were the Lucky Ones relates the incredible story of the survival of a Polish Jewish family during World War II and their attempts to find each other during and after the war. The series follows the Kurc family—parents Sol and Nechuma, their five adult children and their spouses or love interests—as they are forced from their homes and separated in Nazi-occupied Poland. Some family members attempt to escape into Russia, others are taken to labor camps.

The uncertainty and horrors they will each face is telegraphed at the start of the series; an opening caption informs viewers that “By the end of the Holocaust, 90% of Poland’s three million Jews were annihilated.”

And the emphasis on family and faith is also clear from the beginning. The opening scene shows the Kurcs in 1938 during Passover, laughing, bantering and talking about their fears for the future at the seder table.

Moran Rosenblatt plays fiery, passionate Herta, the wife of oldest son Genek (Henry Lloyd-Hughes), both of whom end up in Soviet labor camps. (Rosenblatt is one of several Israeli actors in the phenomenal cast, which includes veteran actor Lior Ashkenazi as Sol; Amit Rahav and Hadas Yaron as Kurc siblings, respectively, Addy and Mila; and Michael Aloni as Mila’s husband, Selim.)

“I was so, so happy to play her when I read the script,” said Rosenblatt in an interview with Hadassah Magazine. “The thing that was important for me to bring to this character was her high energy and humor; I did this in almost every scene I could. I was searching to find a moment to laugh, be cynical, give a wink, be flirty—everything opposite than the loss and grief” the character was experiencing.

That determination shines through in scenes of Herta’s pregnancy and her giving birth in a labor camp in Siberia. Herta’s faith in a future for her child not only aids in her survival, but also empowers her to help others. Even though she has little food for herself, Herta not only nurses her child, but also helps another mother in need, supplying her with much needed breastmilk for her own newborn.

Putting herself in that situation, even as an actor, was often difficult, almost “too hard to handle,” acknowledged Rosenblatt. “I tried not to think about it outside of the character. It was difficult to go to sleep thinking about mothers, people, starving to death.”

Nevertheless, she found a lot of hope in her character’s decisions. “I really loved the choice of Herta feeding the other babies,” Rosenblatt said. “It was life-giving for her, and it helped her to survive.”

In order to prepare for her role, Rosenblatt both read Hunter’s best-selling book and talked to the author at length about the real-life Herta and how she is portrayed in her book.

“I asked for any information that Georgia could give,” she said, and Hunter shared with her the few pictures she had of Herta and her husband.

“There was this one photo of Herta and Genek at the camp” with carefully maintained hair, recalled Rosenblatt. “I was so surprised that they kept doing their hair…at the Siberian camp.”

Caring for their hair might have been an act of defiance, Rosenblatt mused, a way of channeling anger and not giving in to the harsh circumstances. “The people there kept wanting to look their best, despite what was happening.”

Learning more about the real-life woman she was portraying helped Rosenblatt realize that Herta often didn’t have the reference to understand what was happening to her. “When they brought Herta to the Siberian camp at the beginning, I sensed she wanted to send a complaint note to the manager, like she was outraged for being treated so poorly,” the actor said. “She  wasn’t sad or worried that life was ending; she had no idea what was to come.”

As it turns out, playing Herta was “research” of another sort for the actor. Rosenblatt became pregnant soon after production was completed. She gave birth to a baby boy just before the Hulu premiere party in late March.

During filming, she recalled thinking to herself that the birthing scenes she had reenacted was “the most hardcore labor possible that I could imagine,” Rosenblatt said. “Then I actually went into labor for 22 hours, and after the first hour, I said, ‘O.K., this was much harder than playing her!’ I could never imagine how hard it would be!”

And as a new mom, Rosenblatt, who lives in Tel Aviv, still feels that connection. “I relate to Herta even more now,” she said. “I think it’s crazy what our body does, that we can feed our babies. I feel like a glass of milk, and it’s wonderful.”

Filming of the series was completed well before October 7, nevertheless, We Were the Lucky Ones’ moments of faith and kindness have helped Rosenblatt process the ongoing trauma in Israel as well as the shocking rise in global antisemitism.

“I’ve traveled the world for both work and fun, and I have never experienced the antisemitism that has been happening [now],” she said. “When we were shooting the show, it was so not part of the present. But after October 7…it was a complete shock.”

Rosenblatt noted that during filming, she and other members of the cast had discussed how different their lives are today from the era they were portraying. “We were talking about how far it is from the present, and now it looks like reality,” she said. “It’s crazy and sad that there is such hatred toward our religion.”

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