Horkheimer traveled east mostly to reassure patrons the Institute still lived

Evidence

Since we could not afford to close the Institute altogether, I had to show up and to give vital proof to our different friends that I don’t let the things go [sic], that I keep them well posted on my work, that the present lull in the activities of the Institute can be overcome at any moment when we deem it opportune. — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School, 1491

Categorization

• XREF: Institutional survival often depended on visible presence and patron reassurance, echoing the reputation-signaling dynamics seen in other exile and émigré organizational histories. — connects to: Fear drove Horkheimer to keep the Institute impressive while prioritizing private theory work — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School: Its History,…, 1043; Horkheimer’s fear of unprotected exile drove the Institute’s outwardly energetic but directionless survival — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School: Its History,…, 1043