History of orthopedics in the German Democratic Republic (1949-1990)

The following article deals with the essential aspects of the history of Ge rman orthopedics between 1949 and 1990 in the German Democratic Republic (G DR). Starting from the prevailing situation after World War II, the growth of orthopedic care in the GDR is described and the development of national orthopedic centers in the former GDR is summarized. In this context, refere nce is made to those public figures who played a leading role in this proce ss, in particular F. Loffler, RF. Scheel, and RE Matzen. In addition,the in fluence of social conditions in the GDR on the development of orthopedics a nd the resultant constraints are presented. Moreover, this contribution dep icts the progress of orthopedic science in the former GDR and describes suc h salient aspects as the appearance of the specialized journal Beitrage zur Orthopadie und Traumatologie (Essays on Orthopedics a nd Traumatology), th e Gesellschaft fur Orthopadie der DDR (Association for Orthopedics in the G DR), and the annual conferences held by the this association.