Nora Krug’s visually stunning graphic memoir, “Belonging: A German Reckons with History and Home,” is a profound exploration of identity and inheritance for mature young adult readers. Krug, a German-born artist living in New York, embarks on a deeply personal journey to uncover her family’s role during the Nazi era, a history shrouded in silence. The narrative unfolds through a captivating scrapbook-style collage of letters, photographs, and Krug’s own evocative illustrations as she pieces together the lives of her grandparents. We follow her through German archives, flea markets, and poignant interviews, sharing in her determination to understand the choices made by ordinary people in extraordinary, horrifying times.
This exploration of a German family’s past during World War II forces a confrontation with complex questions of guilt, shame, and collective responsibility. Krug navigates the sensitive landscape of her heritage, grappling with terms like Vergangenheitsbewältigung (the struggle to overcome the negatives of the past), a concept central to the post-war German experience. The scrapbook format powerfully conveys the fragmented nature of memory and historical records, making the reader an active participant in the investigation. For readers who have grown up in the shadow of a difficult national history, or for those whose families have been shaped by migration and the severing of roots, Krug’s quest is incredibly resonant. It speaks to the universal human need to understand where we come from and to reconcile the actions of our ancestors with our own sense of self.
