In 1995 (June 24–30) the 1st School of Fracture Mechanics organised in Szklarska Poręba (near Wroclaw, Poland) by the Institute of Materials Science and Applied Mechanics of the Wroclaw University of Technology together with Karpenko Physico-Mechanical Institute of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine and Dresden University of Technology (Germany) took place.

Participation of these Institutions — Physico-Mechanical Institute in Lviv (Prof. V. Panasyuk and Prof. O. Andreikiv) specialising in the field of materials science and fracture mechanics; Dresden University of Technology (Prof. S. Sähn) which playes an important role in the field of fracture mechanics since the scientific activity of G. Neuber and also well-known Polish scientists, in particular, from the Wrocław and Kelce Universities of Technology (Prof. W. Kasprzak, Prof. L. Gołaski, Prof. A. Neimitz, Dr. M. Szata) provided a high level of this School. Total number of participants was 30. Scientific reports presented during the lst School were published in a special book. Tasks and further topics of future Schools were clarified during this School.

The 1st School was organised for researchers who work in scientific and educational Institutions on the problems of materials mechanics and materials science, in particular on the problems of cracks initiation and propagation. The following Summer School on fracture mechanics was dedicated to the problems of structural materials fatigue fracture. It was stipulated by the fact that during the last years this problem has been played great attention to by scientists and engineers. It was also agreed to dedicate further Schools to theoretical and applied problems and the theses of the main lectures ought to be prepared beforehand.

A question was put forward to increase the number of School participants in order to give them the status of European Schools, which will function under the auspices of European Structural Integrity Society (ESIS).

Papers and lectures presented at the 1st School were published in Scientific Papers of the Wroclaw University of Technology (Series: Conferences, No 5, 1996 and No 6, 1997).