[Contribution to the history of gerontology in Germany in the 2nd half of our century].

In this paper some trends of gerontology during the last 45 years in Germany are described. A survey of the development of gerontology in the former GDR is followed by an analysis of the "Zeitschrift für Alternsforschung" from 1980-1990. The main result is the predominance of publications on the care system since the middle of the 1980s. With regard to the development of gerontology in the western part of Germany, an analysis of publications in the "Zeitsschrift für Gerontologie" from 1968-1991 shows changes in the main topics during this period. Until the middle of the 1970s there was a predominance of publications in the field of: intelligence, learning, memory and perception. The emphasis of publications from 1977-1985 was on stress and coping. In the middle of the 1980s there was an increasing interest in the analysis of social network and competence in the elderly. The paper discusses these trends of gerontological research in the eastern and western parts of Germany.