American occupation officials helped lure the Frankfurt School back to Germany

Evidence

In the spring of the following year Horkheimer made his first visit to Germany since his hurried departure in 1933. Invited to participate in ceremonies commemorating the hundredth anniversary of the Frankfurt Parliament, he was warmly greeted as the guest of the city and gave a series of well-received lectures at the university. The eagerness of Frankfurt officials to regain some of the city’s pre-Nazi intellectual eminence by enticing the Institut back was considerable. And ultimately, their efforts proved successful. With the encouragement of American occupation officials, including High Commissioner John J. McCloy, the city was able to make an offer that Horkheimer found impossible to reject. — Martin Jay, The Dialectical Imagination, 847

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Positive American experiences delayed the Institute’s return to Germany — Martin Jay, The Dialectical Imagination: A History…, 849; Horkheimer’s 1947 Europe trip aimed at institutional property recovery plus recruiting influence — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School: Its History,…, 1705; Frankfurt University invited the Institute back within two years of the war’s end — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School: Its History,…, 1709 (+1 more)