Erica Lansberg is the DPAA Research Partner Fellow at the Jenny Craig Institute for the Study of War and Democracy. She completed her doctorate summa cum laude at the Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich. Her revised dissertation manuscript, Encounters in the Rubble: American Interactions with German Children and Youth in Postwar Germany, was published by De Gruyter in 2025. She has been the recipient of numerous awards and fellowships including from the German Historical Institute Washington, DC, the Harry S. Truman Library Institute, the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), and the Fulbright Austria English teaching assistant program. She earned her MA in American history from the Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, and her BA in history and Arabic studies from Williams College, where she graduated magna cum laude. She is also a Research Associate at the Lasky Center for Transatlantic Studies in Munich. In addition to her passion for WWII-era history, she is enthusiastic about public history and has previously worked as a historic house tour guide in Washington, DC.
Erica Lansberg, DPhil
DPAA Research Partner Fellow
More from the Contributor
-
Article TypeThe Graves Registration Service in World War II
Learn MoreAn overlooked story of World War II and its consequences, the Graves Registration Service (GRS) worked tirelessly during the war to collect and identify the dead, providing proper burial. After the war, the GRS conducted the world’s largest search and recovery effort, leading to the identification of 280,000 fallen Americans, who were provided with a final burial in the United States or abroad based upon the surviving family’s wishes.
-
Article Type
Hedy Lamarr’s WWII Invention Helped Shape Modern Tech
Learn MoreRegarded as the “most beautiful woman in the world,” Hedy Lamarr was not only a famous Hollywood actress who sold millions in war bonds during World War II, she was an inventor. Her creations included a frequency-hopping radio communications device for Allied torpedoes during the war.
-
Article Type
The Child Prisoners of Santo Tomas
Learn MoreTens of thousands of Allied civilians, including children, were caught in the crossfire of World War II in the Pacific and interned in camps such as Santo Tomas in the Philippines.
