Some of Kępiński’s friends and biographers claim that his turn towards what is now known as humanistic psychiatry resulted from his own episodes of mental illness and deep psychological torment. Although these claims are as often disputed as they are put forward, the life of the Polish psychiatrist was not without its difficulties. Even if their impact was not as profound as some believe, they undoubtedly left a mark on Kępiński and made him more sympathetic to his patients’ suffering. Two important episodes need to be mentioned in this context: the fact that he was assaulted as a university student, and his wartime odyssey, which saw him locked in several internment and concentration camps around Europe. But it would be perhaps best to start from the beginning.
Born on 16th November 1918 to Tadeusz and Wanda Kępińscy in Dolina (in today’s Ukraine), young Antoni quickly found himself on the move – as the Polish-Ukrainian conflict, which started when Ukraine regained independence, forced the family to relocate. Since Antoni’s parents worried that their few-weeks old child might not survive the trip, they left him under the care of his Ukrainian nanny, hoping to send for them or return as soon as the situation stabilised. They ended up in Bielsko-Biała in present-day southern Poland, where they used their connections to exchange the young Antoni and his nanny for two captured Ukrainian officers – a fact which Antoni later recollected with pride, happy that his life had so much value even at its very beginning.
The family ultimately did not return to Dolina, and after a brief interlude in Nowy Sącz (where Tadeusz led the province government), they settled down in Kraków – although Wanda often left for Krynica, where she managed several boarding houses. After graduating from high school in 1936, Antoni enrolled at the Medicine Department of the Jagiellonian University.
On 10th August 1938, while walking to the university, Kępiński was assaulted by a group of street thugs. Nobody knows what led them to target the young student, but some suspect that they noticed Antoni’s dark red cap – worn by medical students in Kraków – and mistook it for a very similar cap worn by the sympathisers of the right-wing National Democracy political party. At the time, they were infamous for their violence and segregation attempts against Jews (Kępiński opposed antisemitism, joining the Jewish students who were forced to sit in the last rows during lectures). Another theory has it that it was in fact the perpetrators who supported National Democracy, and Kępiński’s dark, thick hair made them suspect he might be Jewish. Regardless of the motives of the assailants, the student was badly beaten and had to be taken to the hospital, where he stayed until 6th November. But the injuries themselves were not as severe as the toll the assault had on young Antoni’s psychological wellbeing.
According to some of Kępiński’s friends, after the beating, Antoni developed symptoms similar to psychosis. He was filled with great dread and anxiety, refused to eat, and developed a strong conviction that he could not trust anybody other than people with blue eyes. The prolonged hospital stay was necessary not only because of the injuries, but also because Kępiński needed psychiatric help. And yet, there is no documentation proving that he ever received any.
While those who believed Kępiński lived through a psychotic episode claim it was an open secret, others dispute that it ever happened. In their view, Antoni’s mental health did deteriorate as a result of the beating, and he possibly even received some psychological help, but he simply felt depressed and did not want to return to the university. They maintain he was afraid that he might get beaten again – a rather natural reaction, considering that he almost lost his life.
Either the psychiatric therapy must have been successful or Kępiński got over his fear, as he returned to his studies and even managed to finish the 1938-1939 academic year in time, despite the setback caused by the hospital stay. Unfortunately, he would have to wait a long time to get his medical degree. In September 1939, Poland was attacked by Germany and the Soviet Union. Suddenly, the young Kępiński had bigger worries than studying for the notoriously difficult medical exams.
Odyssey