Researching WWII American Military Burials
I study how the United States located, identified, buried, and repatriated its dead during the Second World War. My work traces policies and personal stories, connecting battlefield decisions to graves registration units, cemeteries overseas, and families at home.
Scientific curriculum
RESEARCH INTEREST
- Military history, forensic turn
- 20th-century European and American history
- Funeral and commemorative practices in wartime and postwar contexts
- Historical anthropology of death, memory, and trauma
PUBLICATIONS
Upcoming articles (accepted):
- Houbé, Amy. « La gestion des morts en temps de guerre : l’action de l’American Graves Registration Service en Lorraine (1944-1945) » (“Managing the dead in wartime: the work of the American Graves Registration Service in Lorraine (1944-1945)”) In Le cahier du pays Naborien, n°37, 2027. (Accepted for publication, currently under peer review, forthcoming in 2027)
Unpublished work:
- Master’s thesis: “The “work of the dead” in St Avold. The funeral and commemorative practices of the United States since 1945 in the Lorraine American Cemetery” (Supervisor: Prof. Guillaume Piketty). Defended on June 2, 2026 with Associate Professors Jean-Marc Dreyfus, Romain Fathi and Professor Guillaume Piketty (Grade: 18/20, with the jury’s congratulations).
Featured in newspapers and newsletters:
- “Collaboration between historical research and cartography” Sciences Po School of Research, June 11, 2026.
This article was highlighted in two newsletters:
- Monthly Newsletter, École de la Recherche, June 25, 2026, under the section “interviews”, “Co-production entre recherche historique et cartographie : retour sur une collaboration à l’Atelier de cartographie de Sciences Po”
- Inside Sciences Po, Sciences Po, June 23, 2026, under the section “campus news”, “La collaboration d’une étudiante avec l’Atelier de cartographie”
- Creux, Philippe. “Soldats US tombés au combat : le passionnant travail d’Amy Houbé” Le Républicain Lorrain, May 20, 2026.
CONFERENCES AND PRESENTATIONS
Upcoming:
- “L’administration des morts : une approche par les archives et les corps. Le cas des soldats américains en Lorraine pendant et après la Seconde Guerre mondiale” (“Administering the dead: an archival and bodily approach. The case of American soldiers in Lorraine during and after WWII”). Accepted for the 2026–2027 Réseau des Morts seminar.
- “La gestion des morts au cimetière américain de Saint-Avold” (“Managing the dead at the Saint-Avold American Cemetery”) Accepted for the 2026-2027 cycle of conferences by the Société d’Histoire du Pays Naborien.
Past:
- Co-created poster with Dr. Benoit Martin. “Les cimetières américains, 6 juin 1944– 8 mai 1945” (American cemeteries, June 6, 1944- May 8, 1945). Presented during the annual conference organised by the MATE SHS network in Limoges on May 27 and May 28, 2026.
Amy Houbé 