Nora Krug is an author and illustrator and an associate professor in the Illustration Program at The New School’s Parsons School of Design. She holds a BA in performance design from the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts, a Diplom in visual communication from the Universität der Künste Berlin, and an MFA in Illustration as Visual Essay from the School of Visual Arts in New York City. She is the author of award-winning graphic nonfiction narratives, including Belonging: A German Reckons with History and Home (Scribner, 2018), Kamikaze (published in Best American Comics 2012;Houghton Mifflin Harcourt 2012); Diaries of War: Two Visual Accounts from Ukraine and Russia (Ten Speed Graphic, 2023); Krug also created the graphic edition of Yale historian Timothy Snyder’s On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century (Ten Speed Graphic, 2021), which won a gold medal from the Society of Illustrators and a silver medal from the New York Art Directors Club. In 2018, she received the National Book Critics Circle Award and Illustrator of the Year Award from the Victoria and Albert Museum for Belonging. Krug has held fellowships from the Fulbright Foundation, John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, Pollock-Krasner Foundation, Maurice Sendak Foundation, and the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). Most recently, she was a 2024-25 fellow at Yale’s Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies.
At the Academy, Krug is working on “Revenge,” a collection of visual biographies and philosophical
reflections based on archival research and interviews on the subject of revenge and war, across various conflicts, cultures, and societies. She considers revenge from a variety of perspectives: imaginary/symbolic vs. enacted revenge; revenge committed impulsively vs. revenge perceived as an act of duty or to restore a moral code; revenge as a natural part of the transition from war to peace. Ultimately, the book will raise questions relevant to today’s geopolitical climate: Is revenge justified? Is forgiveness truly possible? Does it need to be? Can we ever overcome the trauma of the past and move toward a more peaceful future?
Meet Nora Krug
A short portrait filmed at the Hans Arnhold Center, introducing the work and ideas behind fellows’ projects in Berlin.
Upcoming events
Discover what’s coming up in the Academy’s public program this semester.
Past events
Lectures, readings, and conversations from the Academy’s public program.
Belonging: Artist as Witness
German history, moral reckoning, and human behavior in the face of state violence.
Berlin Journal Articles
Essays, interviews, and creative work published in the Academy’s annual magazine.
Books
Books written by fellows of the Academy, many begun during a semester in Berlin.
Videos
Lectures, readings, and conversations filmed at the Hans Arnhold Center.
Fellow Spotlight: Nora Krug
Nora Krug is working on “Revenge,” a collection of visual biographies and reflections on the subject of revenge and war, across conflicts, cultures, and societies.
Explore Past Fellows
Hakim Abderrezak
Marco Abel
David Abraham
