ing new knowledge to the world? For my part I feel that he is, and I say so as a
Scotsman, who would not waste time travelling to Oslo [to see Reich] if I did not
know that I would get my money’s worth^32.The “Reich affair” put the Norwegian visa authorities on the spot. On the one
hand, such leading scientific personages as Kreyberg, Thjotta, and Scharffenberg had
denounced him and argued against any extension. In addition, Reich was working at least on
the border of medical practice without proper certification. The opinion of the university’s
Faculty of Medicine had been sought regarding Reich’s residence permit. A committee lim-
ited itself to stating that his continued presence in Norway was not essential in terms of his
medical contribution^33.
On the other hand, Reich was defended by a number of prominent persons, includ-
ing reputable psychiatrists and psychologists who insisted on Reich’s significance as a psy-
choanalytic pioneer, a well-documented fact. The
whole affair had taken on a “civil liberties” dimension—and Norway prided itself
on its intellectual tolerance. Only a year or so earlier the authorities had violated this tradi-
tion when, under Soviet pressure, they had expelled Trotsky.* They wanted no repetition of
the protests connected with that decision.
A compromise was found. Reich was permitted to stay, but suddenly a royal decree
went into effect that anybody who practiced psychoanalysis or psychotherapy had to have a
special government license. (Current Norwegian therapists are still bedeviled by this monar-
chic requirement.) It was generally understood that such a license would be refused to Reich.
Reich took the position that his psychiatric work had advanced to the point where
it could no longer be considered psychoanalysis or psychotherapy. Hence he never request-
ed a license and the authorities had no chance to refuse him one. Nor did the authorities act
against his continuing to carry out therapy because by early 1939 Reich had decided to emi-
grate to the United States.He felt that the constant publicity combined with the continuing
practical difficulties made Norway no longer the hospitable environment it had been until
late in 1937.
I have given only a scant picture of how bitter the press campaign in Norway
became. Between September 1937 and the fall of 1938, over a hundred articles denouncing
Reich appeared in the leading Oslo newspapers. His supporters got their share of space, but
they were usually on the defensive, responding to one or another charge of the critics.
Moreover, with a few exceptions his supporters came from avant-gardecircles. The weight of
established scientific opinion ran against Reich.
Throughout the outcry Reich himself issued only one public statement, the request
for a commission to replicate his experiments. He continued working productively through-
out the period. But the pressures markedly affected his personality and his relationships with
Elsa and colleagues. He felt enraged and humiliated by the notoriety he had acquired; he was
220 Myron SharafFury On Earth
* Reich and Trotsky met briefly while the latter was still in Oslo, but I do not know any details of this meeting..