In Memoriam Professor Dr. Helmut Coper

Helmut Coper had a pioneering spirit: not only as a founding editor of the journal Pharmacopsychiatry but also in the academic field. During his studies at the University of Berlin (now Humboldt University) he came into conflict with the growing Marxist-Leninist indoctrination by members of the university. When 3 of his fellow students were expelled after publishing an article exposing the political background behind the rector’s election, he and others called for the foundation of a free university in the Western sectors of the city.

Speaking of the collaborative work that enabled him and his fellow students to initiate the foundation of a university and finally study in freedom after the horrors of the war, Coper said: “It was also a kind of obligation, because we were lucky to have survived the war, we were among the leftovers”. Coper was shaped by these experiences.

Studies began in the Free University of Berlin during the Blockadewinter of December 1948. Coper was the first chairman of the General Student Committee (ASTA) as well as administration officer for the admission of the first 2140 students.

In 1967, Coper was appointed professor and took on the chair of the first neuropharmacology institute – named Institut für Neuropsychopharmakologie - to be established in Germany. The institute´s mission was to focus on clinical pharmacological questions arising from the clinic but which were difficult to study in humans. Instead, in vivo models were developed and the results were later confirmed in the clinical environment. As the institute developed, research became focused on the areas of geriatric neuropharmacology and addiction.

The Institute of Neuropsychopharmacology became an independent part of the newly founded Nervenklinisches Zentrum. For the first time in Germany, a faculty of Nervenklinische Medizin was established. However, Coper was also deeply involved in the university itself. He became a member of the Board of Trustees (Kuratorium). However, as this was the time of the German student movement, he became embroiled in a considerable amount of controversy. He later wrote on this subject: “For me, this was an incomprehensible phenomenon. Shouting slogans and cult leaders are, understandably, anathema to me.”

Another matter close to Coper´s heart was his collaboration with the Institute of Pharmacology of the Academy of Sciences in Krakow, Poland, and specifically with the Head of the Department of Neuro- and Psychopharmacology Prof. Wolfarth and later with Prof. Ossowska. They developed a large project on the pathogenesis of and therapy for neurodegenerative diseases.

Helmut Coper retired on the 1^st of April 1994.

Coper was a contemporary witness of the historical events of the 20^th century but, more importantly, he shaped both his environment and those around him based on his personal lessons in life. It is with great honour that, as his companion for many years and his successor in 2001, I have been invited to write this short in memoriam on behalf of all members of the institute.·

Prof. Dr. med. Hans Rommelspacher, Berlin