3 : Reich’s Childhood and Youth: 1897-1917 53
and Greek, and at times he would show some disdain for those less rigorously educated^20.
Reich had a real affection for certain “old-fashioned” ways, including his traditional school-
ing. We shall meet this kind of complexity again and again, to the chagrin of those who
would prefer a one- or at most two-dimensional hero or villain.
The gymnasium years must have exposed Reich to a wide range of new stimuli.
Czernowitz, where he now boarded, was an active, thriving city, the provincial capital of
Bukovina, with a population of 100,000. There were four gymnasiums in the city and an
excellent university. About one third of the population was Jewish, with many Jewish doc-
tors and lawyers, but few Jewish professors. Anti-Semitism still ran strong in academic cir-
cles.
An anecdote Reich told his daughter Eva and which she related to me is telling. In
Czernowitz he occasionally frequented brothels and on at least one instance he saw several
of his gymnasium professors also at the establishment. Once again apparently stern and
demanding male authorities were not so perfect after all.
A student in Czernowitz had the opportunity to see excellent theater. There were
Saturday performances that young people could go to at a reduced rate. Ottilie, who also
attended gymnasium in Czernowitz a few years after Reich, recalls particularly the happy
vacations when she returned to the family’s country home, with holiday parties, and sleigh-
ing in the winter. Robert commented that such gaiety was not to be found in his home.
During vacations and summers, Reich returned to Jujinetz and helped his father run
the farm. Reich mentions his improved relationship with his father in the case history, but
we know little of what it was like for him to work with Leon, who was now “completely bro-
ken” after the mother’s suicide^21. We do know that Leon placed high expectations on his
elder son, but with these expectations went a sense of great privilege. If Leon was the king
of the estate, Willy was the “crown prince.” Perhaps in Leon’s last years he was also prepar-
ing Willy to become the real leader. Yet we should remember Willy’s recollection of his
father as “always having to make the decisions.”
One incident that reflects the father’s concern for his son, but which had unhappy
consequences, has to do with Willy’s bad skin condition. Exactly when this developed or
when it was treated is unclear. When Willy was either a child or an adolescent, his father took
him to Vienna for consultation and therapy^22. Willy stayed at a hospital there for six weeks,
but the treatment was oflittle avail, for he suffered from a skin condition all his life. At some
point, perhaps on the Vienna visit, Reich’s skin condition was diagnosed as psoriasis.
Sometime during his adolescence Willy received medication that contained arsenic
for his skin disease. This kind of treatment is of dubious value, for there are generally side
effects such as nausea, bloating, and vertigo; a further side effect is an intensification of the
psoriasis. It is possible that this happened to Willy, for in later years he spoke with deep
resentment ofthe treatments, feeling that the medicine had aggravated rather than relieved
the illness. Probably his lifelong suspicion of most medications stemmed in part from his
experiences with psoriasis. By the time he was twenty-one, those who knew him in Vienna
commented on his “acne.”