Changes

Being a communist of Jewish descent, Reich fled Germany and went to Denmark in 1933, and further to Norway in 1934 where he began to develop his [[Bion]] concept. At the instigation of Sigmund Freud, Reich was excluded from the Psychoanalytic Society in the same year. In 1936, he dissociated himself from the Soviet Union. Reich moved to England in 1939 and finally to New York.

Being a communist of Jewish descent, Reich fled Germany and went to Denmark in 1933, and further to Norway in 1934 where he began to develop his [[Bion]] concept. At the instigation of Sigmund Freud, Reich was excluded from the Psychoanalytic Society in the same year. In 1936, he dissociated himself from the Soviet Union. Reich moved to England in 1939 and finally to New York.

==Time in the USA==

==Life in the USA==

[[image:Cloudbuster reich2.jpg|Wilhelm Reich's Cloudbuster|thumb]]

[[image:Cloudbuster reich2.jpg|Wilhelm Reich's Cloudbuster|thumb]]

In New York, Reich worked as a psychiatrist and obtained a teaching assignment at the New School for Social Research. He began his [[orgone]] research. Reich and his assistants developed the so-called [[orgone accumulator]] in 1940, a device meant to save positive atmospheric [[orgone]] energy. The orgone accumulator may be seen as a Faraday cage, built from alternate layers of conductive and non-conductive materials, with a person taking seat inside. The positive orgone energy is said to be concentrated by the special layering of the accumulator and load the organism with energy. Reich bought a mansion in the state of Maine (Rangeley) in 1944 which he called Orgonon. At these premises, he ran a research center and an Orgone Energy Clinic where he medicated patients according to his concept of Biopathy. Reich sold a few hundred orgone accumulators at 250 USD per piece for the purpose of healing a broad variety of diseases, including cancer. While conducting experiments with radium in his research center, whose radioactivity he meant to neutralize by orgone energy, Reich's assistants suffered radiation injuries and had to be taken to hospital. Reich attributed the failure of these experiments to an international conspiracy against himself. Already in consequence of the failure of radium experiments, the US Food and Drug Administration had begun to investigate Reich's research centre Orgonon and finally obtained court orders requesting Reich to destroy all accumulators. In 1954, Reich was charged with malpractice, and materials were confiscated during a search of the centre. While Reich worked with the Cloud Buster in Arizona, his assistant Michael Silver transported several orgone accumulators in a truck from Rangeley/Maine to New York, crossing several state borders in the process. As a consequence, Reich was accused of violating court orders in July 1955. On May 26, 1956, Wilhelm Reich was sentenced to a two years' term of imprisonment for contempt of court, while Michael Silver was sentenced to one year in prison, and the Wilhelm Reich Foundation had to pay a fine of $ 10,000. He had been sent to prison, Reich concluded, for having „fought the demon of ignorance“ and „Modju“ wanted him punished for this. Modju is a term coined by Reich from the two names Mocenigo (after Giovanni Mocenigo, brother of a Venetian doge who delivered Giordano Bruno to the Inquisition) and Djugashvili (Stalin). Reich viewed Modju as an incarnation of an „emotional plague victim“. Reich died of heart failure on November 3, 1957 while incarcerated in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. Reich continued his research while imprisoned and tried to draft an equation on negative gravity.

In New York, Reich worked as a psychiatrist and obtained a teaching assignment at the New School for Social Research. He began his [[orgone]] research. Reich and his assistants developed the so-called [[orgone accumulator]] in 1940, a device meant to save positive atmospheric [[orgone]] energy. The orgone accumulator may be seen as a Faraday cage, built from alternate layers of conductive and non-conductive materials, with a person taking seat inside. The positive orgone energy is said to be concentrated by the special layering of the accumulator and load the organism with energy. Reich bought a mansion in the state of Maine (Rangeley) in 1944 which he called Orgonon. At these premises, he ran a research center and an Orgone Energy Clinic where he medicated patients according to his concept of Biopathy. Reich sold a few hundred orgone accumulators at 250 USD per piece for the purpose of healing a broad variety of diseases, including cancer. While conducting experiments with radium in his research center, whose radioactivity he meant to neutralize by orgone energy, Reich's assistants suffered radiation injuries and had to be taken to hospital. Reich attributed the failure of these experiments to an international conspiracy against him. Already in consequence of the failure of radium experiments, the US Food and Drug Administration had begun to investigate Reich's research centre Orgonon and finally obtained court orders requesting Reich to destroy all accumulators. In 1954, Reich was charged with malpractice, and materials were confiscated during a search of the centre. While Reich worked with the Cloud Buster in Arizona, his assistant Michael Silver transported several orgone accumulators in a truck from Rangeley/Maine to New York, crossing several state borders in the process. As a consequence, Reich was accused of violating court orders in July 1955. On May 26, 1956, Wilhelm Reich was sentenced to a two years' term of imprisonment for contempt of court, while Michael Silver was sentenced to one year in prison, and the Wilhelm Reich Foundation had to pay a fine of $ 10,000. He had been sent to prison, Reich concluded, for having „fought the demon of ignorance“ and „Modju“ wanted him punished for this. Modju is a term coined by Reich from the two names Mocenigo (after Giovanni Mocenigo, brother of a Venetian doge who delivered Giordano Bruno to the Inquisition) and Djugashvili (Stalin). Reich viewed Modju as an incarnation of an „emotional plague victim“. Reich died of heart failure on November 3, 1957 while incarcerated in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. Reich continued his research while imprisoned and tried to draft an equation on negative gravity.

==Wilhelm Reich's Research on Orgones and Life Energy==

==Wilhelm Reich's Research on Orgones and Life Energy==

[[image:WReich.jpg|left|thumb]]

[[image:WReich.jpg|left|thumb]]

As a student of Sigmund Freud, Reich tried to describe the libido and the driving energy of mental functioning according to Sigmund Freud as a quantitatively measurable physical energy which he called orgone. He conducted a series of experiments which made him come to the conclusion that his theory of a specific life energy was proven valid. According to Reich, life energy research was opposed by a campaign led by communists, fascists, and capitalists. He saw a full blown delusional conspiracy against himself in this context. He even accused Albert Einstein of participating in this conspiracy. Analysis of the experimental design and the use of modern measurement techniques, however, showed that all phenomena occuring may be explained by classical physical effects. An indication of a specific life energy could not be found. The investigation of Reich's original equipment in the Wilhelm Reich Museum in Rangeley, USA, revealed serious deficiencies in the measurement technique used and suggested that Reich did not achieve an adequate knowledge of basic concepts and methodology of experimental physics, and of measuring technique in particular, to interpret the effects observed by him in an appropriate manner. Measurement errors and experimentor effects on the part of Reich were revealed in several instances. However, this does not prevent supporters of his "life energy concept" to continue believing in its existence.

As a student of Sigmund Freud, Reich tried to describe the libido and the driving energy of mental functioning according to Sigmund Freud as a quantitatively measurable physical energy which he called orgone. He conducted a series of experiments which made him come to the conclusion that his theory of a specific life energy was proven valid. According to Reich, life energy research was opposed by a campaign led by communists, fascists, and capitalists. He saw a full blown delusional conspiracy against him in this context. He even accused Albert Einstein of participating in this conspiracy. Analysis of the experimental design and the use of modern measurement techniques, however, showed that all phenomena occuring may be explained by classical physical effects. An indication of a specific life energy could not be found. The investigation of Reich's original equipment in the Wilhelm Reich Museum in Rangeley, USA, revealed serious deficiencies in the measurement technique used and suggested that Reich did not achieve an adequate knowledge of basic concepts and methodology of experimental physics, and of measuring technique in particular, to interprete the effects observed by him in an appropriate manner. Measurement errors and experimentor effects on the part of Reich were revealed in several instances. However, this does not prevent supporters of his "life energy concept" to continue believing in its existence.

==Vegetotherapy==

==Vegetotherapy==

==Reich and his fight against UFOs==

==Reich and his fight against UFOs==

By his own account ,Reich led a „cosmic war“ in the U.S. during the 1950ies, against alien [[flying saucer]]s which came into fashion early in this decade. Reich called them "EAs" ("energy absorbers"). He believed that "EAs" deprived the planet earth of its life energy, the Orgone, which they needed for their engines. As soon as Reich sighted an "EA", he tried to deprive it of the orgone energy with the cloud-breaker. Reich established an organization called "Cosmic Orgone Engineering" for his cosmic war, consisting of his son Peter and his son-in-law Bill Moise.c He reported his observations in numerous letters to President Eisenhower and the U.S. Air Force, and asked for support for his cosmic war. Finally, he put the blame on communists and gangsters in the United States government for not taking serious his alerts against the alien invaders.

By his own account, Reich led a „cosmic war“ in the U.S. during the 1950ies, against alien [[flying saucer]]s which came into fashion early in this decade. Reich called them "EAs" ("energy absorbers"). He believed that "EAs" deprived the planet Earth of its life energy, the Orgone, which the aliens needed for their engines. As soon as Reich sighted an "EA", he tried to deprive it of the orgone energy by using the cloud-breaker. Reich established an organization called "Cosmic Orgone Engineering" for his cosmic war, consisting of his son Peter and his son-in-law Bill Moise. In numerous letters, he reported his observations to President Eisenhower and the U.S. Air Force, and asked for support for his cosmic war. Finally, he put the blame on communists and gangsters in the United States government for not taking serious his alerts against the alien invaders.

==Reich the Rainmaker==

==Reich the Rainmaker==