Citation

Fries U. Germanic Rev. 2021; 96(4): 409-441.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2021, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/00168890.2021.1986802

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

After Felix Weil had endowed the Institut für Sozialforschung with the equivalent of 786 kilograms of refined gold in 1935, it seemed inconceivable that, in late 1938, its directors Friedrich Pollock and Max Horkheimer would declare a financial crisis and start cutting costs with little regard for the consequences. They tried to reduce the salaries of their staff, or even get rid of them, while at the same time securing additional funds for themselves. A month after transferring an extra $50,000 to an account at his exclusive disposal, Horkheimer let Walter Benjamin know that he was unable to provide him with the money for a steamliner ticket to New York, "aber meine Hände sind leider gebunden." These circumstances were not known to the participants in the so-called Merkur-debate of 1968, in which Theodor Adorno found himself accused of having willfully omitted documents showing Benjamin's Marxist inclinations when he published his friend's Briefe in 1966. While Hannah Arendt had criticized the Institut for not sufficiently supporting Benjamin, she had stopped short of ascribing them any role in Benjamin's suicide. However, the Frankfurter's financial incompetence matched their skill in controlling the narrative around this mismanagement, such that, to this day, Arendt continues to be criticized for wrongly accusing Horkheimer and Adorno. This article examines the circumstances that contributed to Benjamin's tragic death and the subsequent debates over potential wrongdoings. © 2021 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

Language: en

Keywords

Hannah Arendt; Walter Benjamin; Frankfurt School; Max Horkheimer; Merkur-debate; Theodor Adorno