Introduction: The materiality and spatiality of death, burial and commemoration

in Mortality (2019), 24(2), 117-1-22

Friedhof, Heldenhain oder Totenburg? Der Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge und die Soldatenfriedhöfe Sandweiler und Clausen im Großherzogtum Luxemburg.

in Philippart, Robert L.; Reuter, Antoinette; Kmec, Sonja (Eds.) Ewige Ruhe? Concession à perpétuité? - Grabkulturen in Luxemburg und den Nachbarregionen - Cultures funéraires au Luxembourg et dans les régions voisines (2019)

Ein Ossarium für Steinsel. Über die architektonische Herausforderung einer ungewöhnlichen Bauaufgabe

in Kmec, Sonja; Philippart, Robert L.; Reuter, Antoinette (Eds.) Ewige Ruhe? Concession à perpétuité? - Grabkulturen in Luxemburg und den Nachbarregionen - Cultures funéraires au Luxembourg et dans les régions voisines (2019)

Eine andere Migrationsgeschichte - tote Soldaten der Grande Guerre im Luxemburger Erzbecken

in Mutations. Mémoires et Perspectives du Bassin Minier (2018), 10

Dieser Kurzartikel behandelt die ephemeren Grabstätten deutscher und französischer Kriegsgefallener während des Ersten Weltkrieges und deren Umbettung in den 1920er-Jahren

Cemeteries and urban form: a historico-geographcial approach

in Journal of Urban Morphology (2018), 22(2), 119-139

Research in urban morphology rarely takes account of the specific forms of burial grounds. This paper offers a synthesis of how Christian cities of the dead mirror the cities of the living, and provides ... [more ▼]

Research in urban morphology rarely takes account of the specific forms of burial grounds. This paper offers a synthesis of how Christian cities of the dead mirror the cities of the living, and provides an overview of different Western European 'funeral epochs'. The shifting location of burial grounds realtes to major changes in town planning and building. Adopting a historico-geographical approach, micro-morphological transformatins of grave-plot forms and their cardinal orientations and accessibility are explored in the context of changing religious beliefs, rules of hygiene, and practical and aesthetic consideration. The role of cemeteries in fringe-belt development is presented, using Vienna as a historical case study. [less ▲]

Military Migrants. Luxembourgers in the Colonial Army of the Dutch East Indies

in Itinerario (2017), 41(3), 555-580

Among the roughly 150,000 soldiers sent to the Dutch East Indies between 1815 and 1914, the Luxembourg contingent made up a tiny minority of just 1,075 men. Based upon extensive research into their ... [more ▼]

Among the roughly 150,000 soldiers sent to the Dutch East Indies between 1815 and 1914, the Luxembourg contingent made up a tiny minority of just 1,075 men. Based upon extensive research into their careers, data on these soldiers provide further clues to understanding what drove Europe’s young men to become colonial soldiers. The results of this national case study will be compared with earlier investigations by Bossenbroek and Bosma on recruits for the Dutch colonial army. Similar to the Dutch soldiers, their Luxembourg counterparts had a predominantly urban provenance. However, in contrast to the Dutch, they did not have a strong military background, and it appears that fewer Luxembourgers stayed behind in the Dutch East Indies after their tour of duty. They were more attracted by the payments that the recruiters doled out in advance, particularly at a time of economic crisis, than in a career in the tropics. [less ▲]

Von 'Flamma' zum 'Flamarium'. Zur Geschichte der Feuerbestattung im Großherzogtum Luxemburg, 1900-2015

in Hemecht : Zeitschrift für Luxemburger Geschichte = Revue d'Histoire Luxembourgeoise (2017), 69(Heft 2), 205-232

Luxembourg is a 'delayed nation', as far as cremation is concerned. It was in 1995 that the Grand Duchy opened its own cremation center, only ahead of Malta and Cyprus in the EU zone (Orthodoxe Greece is ... [more ▼]

Luxembourg is a 'delayed nation', as far as cremation is concerned. It was in 1995 that the Grand Duchy opened its own cremation center, only ahead of Malta and Cyprus in the EU zone (Orthodoxe Greece is a special case). While the discussion about the pros and cons of cremation is mirroring the general debate of the last hundred years since the introduction of this alternative form of burial and funeral technique in neighboring countries, especially in Geermany and France, the case study of Luxembourg also offers insights into the development of a small state shaped by its Catholic heritage. This mentaliy-argument is, however, only one side to be considered when investigating the history of cremation. Another decisive factor is the embedddedness of Luxembourg in a transnational context. [less ▲]

Krieg in der industrialisierten Welt

Book published by Caesarpress (2017)

Biedermänner - und keine Brandstifter

Article for general public (2016)

Les frontières de l'indépendance. Le Luxembourg entre 1815 et 1839 - Die Grenzen der Unabhängigkeit. Luxemburg zwischen 1815 und 1839 (Sonderausstellung)

'Voices' from the UNTAC files: policy and politics of accommodation in Phnom Penh after the Khmer Rouge

in Journal of South East Asia Research (2015), 23(3), 377-404

During the 1980s, refugee camps along the Thai–Cambodian border constituted the power base for the civil war parties opposing the People’s Republic of Kampuchea (PRK, 1979–91). Politics of accommodation ... [more ▼]

During the 1980s, refugee camps along the Thai–Cambodian border constituted the power base for the civil war parties opposing the People’s Republic of Kampuchea (PRK, 1979–91). Politics of accommodation and basic services also played a key role in the ‘original accumulation’ of political power by the new regime in Phnom Penh. The resettlement process of Cambodia’s deserted cities developed into a major playground for clientelism, the founda-tion of Cambodia’s state-building process after the Khmer Rouge. Focusing on the archival heritage of the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cam-bodia (UNTAC) 1992–93, a spatial analysis of Phnom Penh’s political geography from the late 1970s to the late 1990s will be provided. This paper argues that the UNTAC time marked a watershed, whose impact has been underrated for Cambodia’s political future: the transition in the accommodation policy of a besieged regime. UNTAC did not end the civil war, but changed the political economy of the country. As the need to ‘camp-in’ and share billeted living space gradually diminished, the socialist ‘moral economy’ mutated into quick money politics and political family business to ensure the hegemonic status of Cambodia’s ruling party further. [less ▲]