NORA KRUG: Often people ask me, so what did your grandfather do during the war under the regime? And the truth is that it is incredibly difficult to really know.īLAIR HODGES: But Nora had to know. Nora Krug is a German-American author and illustrator who became obsessed with her family’s role in World War II. But what do we do with stories that don’t flatter us? The histories we’d rather forget? What do the roots of my family tree have to say about me sitting out here in the high branches? The stories we claim from our past can tell us a lot about how we like to envision ourselves now. Attempted regicide? That’s in the blood running through my veins? This is the kind of story that makes family history so exciting-a vicarious thrill. Grandma could trace a connection from him all the way down the line to me. And it didn’t go well, so he fled to the American continent. NORA KRUG: How do you know who you are if you don’t understand where you come from?īLAIR HODGES: A few months ago my grandmother told me an old family legend about an ancestor who tried to assassinate the King of England. Victor Klemperer, I Will Bear Witness 1942-1945: A Diary of the Nazi Years Transcript Victor Klemperer, I Will Bear Witness: A Diary of the Nazi Years, 1933-1941 The English translation is divided into two books:

Nora recommended the German edition of Victor Klemperer’s diaries.

Her graphic memoir Belonging: A German Reckons With History and Home won more awards than I have space to list here. She is an Associate professor of Illustration at the Parsons School of Design in New York City. NORA KRUG is a German–American author and illustrator.

Belonging nora krug sparknotes