Prague Section of IADR

The Prague Section of the International Association for Dental Research was founded in 1932 by Karel Černý, Jan Jesenský, František Kostečka, A. E. Loos, Friedrich Neumann, František Neuwirt, and Karel Wachsmann.

By 1934, Karel Wachsmanns Jr., Jaromír Křečan, V. F. Náprstek, Čestmír Parma, Josef Přibyl, Ferdinand Škaloud, and Hans Wermuth joined, and in 1937, Karl Haupl. In 1938, Karel Wachsmann Sr. died.

During World War II, more and more members died – moreover, Czechoslovak science has been suppressed by the Nazis – so that by 1948, there were only nine members: Černý, Kostečka, Křečan, Neumann, Neuwirt, Parma, Přibyl, Škaloud, and Wermuth.

The Section "became inactive" in the postwar period – i.e. they were forced to shut down by the communists after their putsch in February 1948. The "inactivation" of the Prague Section was approved by the IADR Council at the 31st General Meeting in 1953.

Some of the founding members of the Section had been honored by being designated as Honorary Vice-Presidents of IADR: Jan Jesenský (1933-35), Karel Wachsmann Sr. (1935-38), Karel Černý (1938-39), and František Neuwirt, 1939-40.

By 1970, there was only one IADR member left in Prague: Anna Placková, who was awarded an IADR "Senior Foreign Dental Scientist" Fellowship. This enabled her to come to Chicago in 1968-69 and participate in several IADR research meetings while traveling in the United States to visit a few dental research centers.