Belonging: A German Reckons with History and Home

Astonishing, gorgeous, moving, absolutely original. YES to a beautiful treatment of some of our most troubling questions.

Since the 1980's there has been a whole genre of books and movies by younger German generations who look into the Nazi pasts of their families and towns. This is an excellent example of that type of book - with a good twist thanks to it being an adult illustrated title. I first came across Krug when I read the graphic edition of Timothy Snyder's outstanding "On Tryanny". Her bio blurb sounded interesting, including this winner of numerous awards earlier title. There appears to be an English edition that shares the name of the German edition, "Heimat". This is a much better title, with connotations of her missing Germany (she now lives in NYC). But it was also a Nazi catch phrase for an imagined "pure" Germany from the past (no wonder Snyder chose her to illustrate his book!). I had a hard time putting it down each evening - what will come next in her search into her family's history? This is not only the story of her family's Nazi ties (or not), but also the stories and the truth and the interaction of her families from both sides (her father and his older sister have not spoken in decades). Thankfully there is a family tree for both sides on the end papers - it can become a bit confusing at times. She tells a powerful story here, stunningly complimented by her illustrations. Which are often more collages than drawings. And the occasional one page chapters on WWII photos and letters and other items she has picked up at German flea markets. Or, again, the one page chapters on things that are uniquely German (e.g., Persil, and the difference between American and German washing machines). Such odd twists within the family - such as her father, born after the war, being named the same as his much older brother. Who died in Italy fighting for the Germans, Or who really did the Bambi woodcuts in the family home (Hitler banned Disney films - remind you of someone else more current?). In the end she realizes she will never have definite answers, but she can come close. But I do wish she had spent a bit of time on who her father's father really is (there are DNA tests now, but it might be a bit uncomfortable asking your elderly father to give you a mouth swab!). Or, something you don't hear about much - German guilt, and the younger generations feeling it (she tries to hide her accent in NYC). Just a fantastic story, so well told and shown. I am looking forward to her new book coming out later this year, on Russia and the Ukraine! If I could give this book a 7 out of 5, I would have! One of the few books I finished and immediately handed over to my wife and said, "You've got to read this!"

This is a story of a German immigrant's search for family truth. Nora Krug's memoir is a process of discovery. She does the best she can to determine what her grandparents, aunts and uncles did during World War II. She shares what people say happened along with what documents and artifacts indication. All in an engaging illustrated text. I loved reading this book. My ancestors immigrated to the U.S. in the later part of the 19th century so its unlikely there were close relatives who lived in Europe during World War I or II. Still, growing up in NY with a Gerrman surname and shaped by the Diary of Anne Frank I wondered what role distant relatives might have played, what my father would have done or what I would have done if I lived in Germany during World War II. Who would I have been? Were any of relatives Jewish? resisters? Nazis? The author grew up in Germany is intimately connected to the culture and the language. She shares those connections in ways that peak curiosity. The only negative I have is about the text. The contrast between the printed text and the background paper on some pages is not optimal, making reading a bit more of an effort. contrast is that some of the pages in the hardcover book

This book uses a lot of doodles and pictures. If you are looking for a read that you can sink your teeth into, this one may not do the trick. It’s interesting and thought provoking though. I like the honesty and vulnerability.

Can something that looks like a scrapbook or child's diary be deeply poetic and deeply troubling? Absolutely. Krug's simple words resonate with the text, delivering one gut-punch after another. Each surface description of quotidian interactions with her family or little things she did to uncover their wartime history opens into an abyss. A could-be-nostalgic image of a German brand of band-aid turns into a poetic exploration of cultural scars, the pain of ripping the band-aid off reverberating with the entire depth of the exploration that comprises the remainder of the book. Snippets of documents and photographs, wallpaper, drawings, cartoon panels meld in unexpected ways, opening vistas into history and emotional entanglements. A lot of the finest modern German authors have described the feeling that the present is like a thin veneer over a terrible past, that any picking at that surface reveals old wounds festering beneath, that the beauty and sense of being "safe" or "home" can never be fully trusted, because they are also always filled with unspoken pain. Krug shows all of this masterfully, taking us with her through the continuous waves of emotion that make up her exploration. In the end, there is no easy solution, no happy end. But we do get to witness conversation snippets that fill us with hope that the journey is worth it: the tears in her mother's voice over the phone that signal that something long pushed down has opened and softened, a sense that along with the guilt, history also contains miraculous moments of forgiveness and loyalty--never a final resolution, but a hope that there is more than one story and that staying with the uncertainties, the complications, the pushing against the borderline between knowing and not-knowing is worth it. I could not put this down on the first read and suspect I will return to it often.

Patriotism is a difficult thing in Germany. I would say that until the World Cup in 2016, if you flew a German flag outside your house in Germany, people would look at you strange, because patriotism often looks like nationalism, which is why I was drawn to Nora Krug’s Belonging. Being German, when I first moved to America, I remember being proud of my German heritage, and so I remember being really confused why my mother discouraged me from telling people that I was German. I learned later the hard way why I should have listened to my mother. Being German, comes with baggage, as Krug establishes early on discussing how, when she travels, mentioning where she comes from immediately prompts people to bring up Hitler or when she describes the guilt she and her fellow students felt about their heritage when they first toured a concentration camp. Belonging, is Krug’s investigation into her family’s past using primary documents, personal accounts, and her own artwork. Each page is designed with the subject matter in mind. She either draws around actual pictures, or if information isn’t available, she recreates it. The effect is that the novel feels partially like reading someone’s diary as Krug wrestles with her country’s past and what it means to be German now. I would absolutely recommend this novel, as it deals with complex subject matter in a complex and layered way and it doesn’t try to gloss over one of the most disturbing chapters of history. The personal aspect of the subject matter to Krug helps this not feel like another historical account and it’s a perspective that isn’t often heard, the view of a German today accepting one’s past, while trying to decide how to honor it and live for the future.

Life is a journey. There is no finish line. There is no big prize at the end. By living, you are exploring a path. This book does a fabulous job of bringing you alongside the author as she does what we all do: wonder. We wonder where we came from, we wonder who we are, we wonder if our ideas are pure fantasy, or worse- sugar-coating reality. Nora's story is familiar, even if we aren't in the exact same position. None of us are. Allowing us to share her wander through her wondering was a remarkable way to see her journey. There is no finish line. The path is home.

Just wanted to point out for people looking for a novel, this is more of an illustrated book. Some of the writing is hard to read because of the designs on the page. Having spent some time in Germany, I am fascinated by the German culture and the sorrow and guilt the younger generations feel and were taught in school. I was hoping for a more readable and flowing examination of this part of German culture. I like these kinds of illustrated books and think this is an interesting one, just not what I expected especially since it was advertised in The New Yorker.