and Freudian scholar, heard Reich give a few political talks in Vienna in the late 1920s.
He found him to be a “marvelous” speaker, eloquent and forceful^3. A Danish newspa-
per reporter who heard Reich speak in 1934 wrote: “He is a phenomenon.... The
moment he starts to speak, not at the lectern, but walking around it on cat’s paws, he is
simply enchanting. In the Middle Ages, this man would have been sent into exile. He is
not only eloquent, he also keeps his listeners spellbound by his sparkling personality,
reflected in his small, dark eyes.”*^4
Reich’s political speech always concluded the evening. Before it, there would be
various kinds of entertainments studded with “messages.” For example, the team wrote
new lyrics, with sex-political themes, set to the music of Marlene Dietrich’s popular song
from The Blue Angel“Falling in Love Again,” which Lia Laszky was called upon to sing.
And the audience participated in group singing to guitar accompaniment^5.
Once again, one has the uncanny sense of Reich’s anticipation of later political
developments on the left. He was well aware that the average citizen was bored to death
by the usual approaches of the left the long speeches on economic policy, foreign affairs,
and the like. In his practical sex-political work, everything he did was geared to involving
people.
In 1928, Reich dreamed that within a short time many teams would be going out
with vans and offering the people sexual information and counseling, together with a
more socialist political orientation. But this plan never materialized, partly because oth-
ers did not share his commitment, partly because his own modus operand! changed.
Reich was providing most of the driving force behind the enterprise and almost all the
finances (the van, the cost of printing pamphlets and announcements, etc.). He threw
himselfinto the sex-pol work with all his usual gusto.As Laszky remarked: “He loved
it—it was meat and potatoes to him.”
A further characteristic of Reich’s style was that while he was the recognized
leader ofthe enterprise,the team atmosphere was open, frank, and collegial. In all the
sex-political work, as in the technical seminar, Reich encouraged the open acknowledg-
ment ofmistakes,taking the lead himselfin describing his errors; each day’s activities
would be scrutinized afterward.
Laszky did not continue to be so enthusiastic about the sex-political work. After
the initial excitement,she was disappointed. In her view, the expected movement of peo-
ple toward a more radical political stance did not occur. Some were very interested in the
sexual information and in obtaining contraception; others were quiet and just listened.
But few made the connection between the issues of personal sexual life and larger polit-
ical concerns.
11 : The Application of Sex-economic Concepts on the Social Scene The Sex-pol: 1927-1930 129
*The same characteristics were apparent when I heard him speak before small professional groups in the 19405
and 19505. He usually spoke from a very few notes, which permitted him to look directly at his audience, and spoke
very fluently. He had a way of emphasizing key points through added vocal force, which, combined with his wit
and directness, kept audience interest high. The repetitions and variations, combined with the inflections and
cadences of his voice, gave a musical quality to his speech. He was the most charismatic speaker I have ever heard.