Horkheimer attempted to portray the Institute as politically neutral after the Nazi seizure

Evidence

Horkheimer, following a course of `strict normalization’ (Lowenthal’s phrase), wrote from Geneva on 18 March to the university rector, Gerloff, and to the dean of the Faculty of Philosophy, Lommatzsch, referring to newspaper reports on the search and closure of the Institute. In the duplicate letters, he stated: … There seemed to me to be no doubt as to the reasons for the search. My predecessor as director of the Institute had collected the Library of the History of the Labour Movement, which is renowned throughout the world… In the nature of things, the library contained a large quantity of socialist literature. To some distant observers, this might have given the impression of political bias. In the earlier years in particular, rather more students who were attracted to various strands of socialism than right-wing ones concerned themselves with the problems of the labour movement, although this situation may have changed more recently. When I took over as director of the Institute, I was aware that its previous history would make it the director’s duty to ensure that there could be no doubt about its political neutrality. — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School, 525

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the broader pattern of exiled scholars’ ‘strict normalization’ strategies during the Nazi takeover. — connects to: The Institute moved its endowment and library abroad well before the Nazi takeover — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School: Its History,…, 452; Horkheimer forbade the Institute from any political or émigré-support activity — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School: Its History,…, 539

Broader Connections

• Horkheimer forbade the Institute from any political or émigré-support activity #exemplifies (0.75) — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School, 539