Burned But Not Forgotten: US Government Suppression of Wilhelm Reich's Work - Free Presentation, Princeton October 1, 2011

How many Americans know that our government authorized the burning of scientific books in the 1950’s? During this year’s Banned Books Week, “Burned But Not Forgotten: U.S. Government Suppression of Wilhelm Reich’s Work,” will be offered free to the public on Saturday, October 1st, 2011 in Princeton NJ. The presentation delves into the little-known fact that more than six tons of Reich’s published journals and books, including Character Analysis, the psychiatric classic published in 1933 and still used by many therapists today, were burned under the supervision of the U.S. government in 1956.

Reich, an Austrian psychiatrist, scientist, and student of Sigmund Freud, was a prolific, and, for his time, controversial, writer. His then revolutionary observation that a healthy sex life was crucial to over-all well being deemed him an unsavory character in the eyes of some who wanted to quash his ideas and research. One of the first medical doctors to discover a mind-body connection, Reich also developed alternative ways to treat physical and emotional illnesses that set off the traditional medical and scientific community. Numerous subsequent body-oriented, emotion-based psychotherapies including Alexander Lowen’s bioenergetics, Arthur Janov’s primal scream therapy and Fritz Perls’ Gestalt therapy all stem from Reich’s work.

The fact that the book burning was just one part of multiple attempts to stop Reich’s work and discoveries by using agencies of the government (including the FDA, FBI, and the Department of Immigration and Naturalization) will also be explored. Reich’s books, particularly his sociological classic, The Mass Psychology of Fascism, published in 1933, were also burned by the Nazis, as well as banned by the German Communist Party, and the Soviet Union -- evidence that some powers were set on destroying work intolerable to their viewpoint. That our own government could be in league with these groups is a travesty.

At this presentation led by Peter A. Crist, M.D., numerous professionals and students of Reich’s work from the U.S. and abroad will discuss the profound impact of Reich’s ideas and books on their lives and careers (for a preview, please visit our Public Eye page). Despite the attempts to thwart its discoverer, there are many who are dedicated to continuing the development of Reich’s medical and scientific work. The therapy he developed is still being taught and practiced, successfully providing true change for people sufferingfrom a wide range of emotional problems, often without dependence on medication.

The event on Saturday, October 1st takes place at the Paul Robeson Center for the Arts, 102 Witherspoon St., Princeton, NJ from 3:00 to 5:00PM as part of a series of social orgonomy talks sponsored by the American College of Orgonomy. Admission is free. Call (732) 821-1144 or register online by visiting www.orgonomy.org