Belonging: A German Reckons with History and Home

Krug’s aunt got in touch with Sabine, the granddaughter of Krug’s great uncle Edwin. Sabine sent over dozens of letters from Edwin while he was at war, and Krug enlisted the help of some seniors to translate them from the old Sütterlin style. Over time, Edwin’s letters became less hopeful and increasingly filled with sorrow. To represent the fading of Edwin’s hope, Krug illustrates the text through illustrations depicting Edwin slowly blurring and fading from existence. Edwin died at war, and his body was never found. Upon reading these letters, she finally let go of some of her shame and felt grief for her family’s loss. The Red Cross continues to search for what happened to Edwin and millions of other soldiers in World War II.

Krug and her father arrived in a town outside of Külsheim, where she sifted through the town archives. She found the mayor’s account of treatment toward Jews during the Holocaust (much of which appears to be lies), Christmas cards and letters sent from family members, and a letter to Annemarie about the mandatory selling of her land for military purposes. In addition, she found a letter detailing Franz-Karl (her uncle’s) death and how cherished he was as a member of the SS, which she describes as “a letter equal in kindness and in cruelty” (134).