Institute staff spanned rival communist factions divided by attitude to Stalinized Soviet Russia.

Evidence

It was also unique for an institute attached to the university to have assistants and doctoral students who were mostly communists. They all belonged to various different groupings, however, not all of which were still represented within the Communist Party itself. For example, there were the Korschists or Trotskyists, who were in favour of communism, but denied that the development of Soviet Russia was a communist one. Among these were Heinz Langerhans, Kurt Mandelbaum and Walter Biehahn. Then there were the Brandlerians, who were in favour of unity with the Social Democrats and of interim solutions; among these were Ernst Frölich and Klimpt. There were Communist Party members who were (still) following the line laid down by the party, which had in the meantime become Stalinized, or variations on the party line. Among the latter were Fritz Sauer, Paul Massing, Willy Strzelewicz and Karl August Wittfogel. — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School, 128

Categorization

• DEFINE: Distinguishes Korschists/Trotskyists from Brandlerians by their divergent positions on Soviet Russia and Social Democratic unity — useful reference terminology for the period.
• XREF: Connects to the broader Weimar-era German communist split documented across interwar Marxist histories. — connects to: The Institute’s de-politicized language reflected fear, anti-Soviet sentiment, and lost faith in the proletariat. — Martin Jay, The Dialectical Imagination: A History…, 192; Internal bureaucracy and competing offers stripped the Institute of its empiricists. — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School: Its History,…, 2386; Russian revolutionary factions split over whether a workers’ or cross-class democracy should govern

Broader Connections

• Russian revolutionary factions split over whether a workers’ or cross-class democracy should govern #corroborates (0.80)
• The Institute’s de-politicized language reflected fear, anti-Soviet sentiment, and lost faith in the proletariat. #expands (0.75) — Martin Jay, The Dialectical Imagination, 192
• Internal bureaucracy and competing offers stripped the Institute of its empiricists. #complicates (0.75) — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School, 2386