Belonging: A German Reckons with History and Home

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of discrimination, physical/emotional abuse, and death.

“I remember walking past the train tracks, the barracks, and the electric fences, past the poplar trees that looked too beautiful, documenting it all with my camera in black and white, trying to understand the scope of the atrocities committed—right here—by my own people: acts that cannot and should not ever be forgiven.”

This quote demonstrates the symbolic significance of settings and places tied to trauma, such as the train tracks and electric fences, which represent both oppression by the Nazis and personal guilt. The mention of documenting it via photos underscores a desire to preserve and understand this history, thematically reflecting The Personal and Moral Implications of Inherited History, while “black and white” conveys a further allusion to morality. Krug’s acknowledgment of “acts that cannot and should not ever be forgiven” suggests a confrontation with the dark legacy of Nazi atrocities and the long-lasting emotional scars they leave on future generations.

“How do you know who you are, if you don’t understand where you come from?”

This question thematically illustrates Finding One’s Homeland and a Place to Belong, asking how one can understand themselves without understanding their family history. Krug’s inquiry is a reflective moment implying that knowing one’s cultural and familial origins is essential to the process of self-discovery. A major idea in Krug’s investigation of her family’s Nazi ties is that identity is not fixed but rather influenced by the historical background and inherited memories of one’s ancestry.