The film In the Fade — in German, Aus dem Nichts — was, surprisingly, Kruger's German-language debut. Released in 2017, the film features Kruger as Katja Şekerci, a German woman who loses her husband Nuri (Numan Acar) and young son Rocco (Rafael Santana) to a neo-Nazi terrorist attack. After the incident, Katja falls into a deep depression made worse by Nuri's mother, who tells Katja that Rocco would still be alive if she had been a better mother.
The police arrest a married couple as suspects for the bombing, and they go on trial. Despite the evidence and testimonies pointing to their guilt, the strong defense attempts to discredit it all. For Katja, who lost everything in the bombing, she needs the trial to succeed and the couple to be charged. Even with supportive friends trying to help her, Katja has lost control of her life and her emotions, and the trial is all she has left. If the proceedings don't end with the couple being charged for the murder of her family, Katja intends to take justice into her own hands.
Kruger received a lot of praise for her performance, with The Times (UK) stating that the actress "carries entire scenes of witness testimonies through looks and grimaces alone. It's a masterclass" in acting. Kruger also won the Best Actress award at the Cannes Film Festival, and In The Fade won the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Film.
