In September, 1976, the International Federation for Cell Biology held its first congress in Boston. On this occasion Berlin was chosen as the site for the next congress. This meant an acknowledgement and at the same time a heavy burden for the still young European Cell Biology Organization, which repre- sents a junction of European societies and groups for cell biology. In practical terms, this meant that the members of the young and, compared to the Ame- rican Society for Cell Biology, small German Society for Cell Biology had to do a good deal of the organizing of the Cell Biology Congress. This is an op- portunity for me, as Chairman of the Organizing Committee, and also on be- half of the German Society for Cell Biology, to express my gratitude to all those who have actively participated in the preparations for this Cell Biology Congress. The success of the Congress in Berlin was to a significant extent due to their work. In particular, I would like to especially thank the Secretary General ofECBO Werner Franke, Heidelberg, as well as the Chairman of the Local Organizing Committee, Peter Giesbrecht, Berlin, for the excellent job they did.
The Congress in Berlin proved to be significantly larger than that in Boston in 1976. The number of abstracts increased from 1200 to more than 1800. They have been published in the European Journal of Cell Biology. In a simi- lar way the number of symposia and workshops expanded.