[Fifty years of psychiatric reform in Germany: East and West]

The development of psychiatric reform in Germany over the last 50 years has been characterized by a heterogeneity that should not be underestimated, as can also be observed in other European countries. The fact that the reform process in both the "old" Federal Republic of Germany and the former German Democratic Republic began quite belatedly was also due to the consequences of "euthanasia" during the National Socialist era and the delayed social and professional reappraisal of euthanasia. This article traces the major lines of development of the reform and outlines some of the current challenges in mental health services, especially community psychiatry.