10^th Anniversary of the German Society of Crystallography (DGK)

The formal separation of German crystallographers dates back to 1965, when the Deutsche Vereinigung für Kristallographie (VFK) was founded in East Germany and the former East German Academy of Sciences ended cooperation with the German National Committee for Crystallography. During the 7^th Congress and General Assembly of the IUCr in 1966 (Moscow) the German Adhering Body was divided into two regional committees. East Germany was granted separate representation in the General Assembly, which was then approved by the 8^th General Assembly in 1969. It was not until the reunification of Germany on Oct. 3, 1990, that crystallographers in East and West could come together in a joint society, which was founded in Munich, Mar. 12, 1991, as the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Kristallographie (DGK) incorporating members of the former West German 'Arbeitsgemeinschaft Kristallographie' (AGKr) and of the East German VFK. Ten years later the DGK is a vibrant body with 17 active working groups covering the whole field of modern crystallography (www.kristall.ethz.ch/DGK). On the occasion of the 10^th Assembly held in Bayreuth this year, the first president of the DGK, Heinz Schulz (Munich), and the last president of the VFK, Ursula Steinike (Berlin), were elected Honorary Members of this society.

Peter Paufler