In Memoriam dr. Gerd Huber

Professor Dr. med. Dr. h. c. mult. GERD HUBER
(December 3 1921 – April 8 2012)
 

Honorary member of the INPC Kuratorium (International Neuropsychiatric Pula Congresses)

With profound sorrow we received the sad news on the unexpected decease of our many years’ sincere collaborator and safe friend, active in our Kuratorium sessions, speaker in our Congresses: the Honorary INPC Kuratorium member, Professor Gerd Huber. Professor Gisela Gross and Gerd’s family informed us that he had left this world on Sunday, April the 8th 2012, after a short illness. This has stopped his plans to accomplish his life-long fruitful research dedicated to psychiatric patients and to his research in psychiatry, especially schizophrenia.

From 1961 Associate professor (Bonn), from 1974 Professor at the Psychiatric clinic Ulm Weissenau, starting with 1978 to his retiring he was Director of the University Psychiatric clinic in Bonn. Recognized in the world, he was honorary member of many German, European, North- and South-American societies for psychiatry or biologic psychiatry, Honorary Fellow of the World Federation of Societies of Biologic Psychiatry, visiting professor and lecturer of many
universities, holder of the high German Order “Bundesverdienstkreuz am Bande”.

Only a few months ago, Friday December 16th 2011, the Köln University and the Köln und Bonn Psychiatry Departments organized in Bonn the whole day Symposium dedicated to his investigations to honor his 90 years anniversary. Professor Huber was a most devoted follower of the German psychopathological school of Karl Jaspers and Kurt Schneider, recognized early also in Croatia, using it in his research, in line with new developments in diagnostics, in neurobiological advances and the new possibilities of management of psychoses. The Bonn Symposium has shown that the old data, adapted to these advances and new concepts may still be practically useful and scientifically

fruitful, giving new scientific strength to modern psychiatry. The Symposium attracted many psychiatrists from Germany and even distant countries (Japan), with contributions by eminent speakers, his collaborators and followers.

Invited to the Bonn meeting was also the Honorary President of our INPC Kuratorium, Professor Boško Barac, who handed to Professor Huber at the end of the Symposium, on behalf of the INPC Secretary General Professor Demarin and the INPC Kuratorium, the INPC Diploma of gratitude and appreciation. He stressed important Huber’s contributions to the INPC international values, scientific significance and closer collaboration between neurology and psychiatry in their functions of fostering the humane and social values of medicine in the domain of mental and neurological health. Our dear friend Gerd was visibly cherished by these signs of gratitude and consideration.

Professor Huber himself described in the “50 years INPC Memorial book 1961-2010” (contribution: Huber and Gross) his participation and his continuous engagement in the Pula meetings, first as the invited speaker of Academic lectures, later also collaborating closely with the former Secretaries General: Grinschgl, Lechner and Barac, in the organization of the Psychiatric themes. His first participation in Pula was at the 15th Neuropsychiatric Symposium in
1975, invited by the Kuratorium to the report “Schizophrenia long term study” within the Main theme “Involution psychoses”. One of the founders of the Pula Symposia, the then German leading neurologist Werner Scheid, wrote to him at that occasion. From that year on he stayed a great supporter and advocate of the INPC, named by many: “The Pula School of Science and Humanism”.

We are grateful to Professor Gisela Gross, Huber’s many years first assistant in research, also the INPC Honorary Kuratorium member, for her continuous help in Huber’s scientific work, making also possible his attendance to our meetings in Pula and Croatia even in his late years.

We wish Professor Huber to stay for new generations a prototype of scientist, practical psychiatrist, teacher and the humane person, contributing both to the advances of medicine, to the mutual understanding of people and to the worldwide improvement of human peaceful living.

Professor Dr. Med. Sc. Vida Demarin,
Fellow of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts (HAZU),
INPC Secretary General

Professor Dr. Med. Sc. Boško Barac,
Honorary President, INPC Kuratorium