97th DOG Annual Meeting 1999
V294
100 YEARS "VEREIN RHEINISCH-WESTFÄLISCHE AUGENÄRZTE"
AN ASSOCIATION BETWEEN TRADITION AND PROGRESS
Holland, G.
The eventful history of the "Verein Rheinisch-Westfälische Augenärzte" is presented. This association is the largest and most historic of the regional German ophtalmological associations although it is not the oldest, as Hirschberg for example founded 1893 the Berlin Ophthalmological Society. The "Verein Rheinisch-Westfälische Augenärzte" was based on the ideas of the German Ophthalmological Society. In the early decades the association was also engaged in economics and in professional politics. The annual meetings (a total of 161 until now and they were arranged biannually until 1984) developed from workshops with a small scietific program to real congresses with one or more main topics and a larger number of plenary lectures, oral presentations and a large industrial exhibition. The statute had to be adjusted several times during the years in order to keep up with the changing demands. Outstanding personalities like Theodor Axenfeld, Emil Krückmann, Ernst Custodis und Gerd Meyer-Schwickerath were among the members. The first decades after World War II were influenced by Paul Adolf Jaensch and Karl August Reiser. Jaensch decisively took part in the reconstruction of the association after the war. Reiser created several new features liike the reports on the meetings, post graduate courses, the scientific award of the association and the memorial lectures. In the recent decades the association was influencd by the secretary during 26 years, Gerhard Berneaud-Kötz, who was also a member of the Julius-Hirschberg-Society. Berneaud-Kötz introduced the Jung-Stilling-Medal in 1990. For a long period of time there was a close relation to the colleagues in Holland. By now the association counts 24 honorary members.
Kiel
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