Ja n 20 05 WEST - SIDE STORY ( On the History of Density - Wave Spiral Theories in the 1960 s )

This paper deals with the history of Density-Wave Spiral Theories in the 1960s. The motivation to write the paper was the publication of two papers on the history of these theories (Pasha 2004a, b). Pasha's papers tell only a part of the story that took place on the Western side of the Iron Curtain in the 1960s. But giving only a part of the full story is a distortion of historical truth. Important work done on the Eastern side of the Iron Curtain is still little known in the West. In this paper, I fill the gaps and correct chronological inaccuracies in Pasha's story and mention facts that are still unknown (or little known) to the astronomical community in the West. I also give my recollection of the development of Density-Wave Spiral Theories in the 1960s. The interesting article by I.Pasha discusses the early history of the Density Wave Theory in the 1960's. This was a period of rapid development when the foundations of the theory were laid. Pasha's articles are of interest particularly because in addition to a fascinating description of the development and conflicts of ideas, they are based on a great number of private communications with the developers of this theory such as A. and others. These people made fundamental contributions to the development of the theory and laid its foundation. I was also a participant in the development of this theory in the 1960's. In this paper, I want to share my recollections, fill in gaps in the history written by Pasha and address some historical inaccuracies. As I will show in this article, the real history of the Density Wave Spiral Theory in the 1960's frequently was not quite as described by Pasha and occasionally quite different.