Article
Frankfurt School By Pecora, Vincent P.
Article
The Frankfurt School (Institute für Sozialforschung) was founded in 1923 by Felix Weil and fellow students Max Horkheimer and Friedrich Pollack, and was originally endowed by Weil’s father. Its early members included Leo Lowenthal, Henryk Grossman, Julian Gumperz, Franz Borkenau, Karl August Wittfogel, and Carl Grünberg, its first director. These were the sons of a largely assimilated Jewish bourgeoisie in Frankfurt who, following the example of the highly energized and diverse student movements after Germany’s loss in World War I and the subsequent failure of socialist revolution there, desired avenues for transformative research and discussion outside the boundaries of traditional universities.