Auf dem Weg zur Demokratie – der Transformationsprozess 1990/91 und die Rolle der Gesellschaft für Psychiatrie und Nervenheilkunde in der DDR

OBJECTIVE: The transition from socialist dictatorship to liberal democracy in the GDR was associated with political and social upheaval. The transformation accompanying the democratic sociopolitical process is examined using the example of the Association for Neurology and Psychiatry of the GDR, which led to its unification with the German Association for Psychiatry and Neurology (DGPN). METHOD: For the historical investigation material from the archives of the DGPPN as well as the personal belongings of the protagonists of the time were used and eyewitness interviews were conducted. RESULTS: The transformation process can also be seen for the Association for Neurology and Psychiatry of the GDR. As at the political level, there was also a loss of legitimacy at the board level of the Association for Psychiatry and Neurology in 1990. The new understanding of democracy required the participation of all members. The Spokesman Council and the DGPN (East) were responsible for establishing and consolidating democratic structures. CONCLUSION: Beyond the transformation process, little is known about the merger. The phase of reorientation at the beginning of the 1990s should be examined for the DGPN as well as the question of how to deal with the suspected political abuse of psychiatry in the GDR.