By 1923, in most of Europe at least, the gunfire had ceased. Yet in Germany, a group of young academics felt that the social upheaval following World War I still had the potential to produce catastrophe — and believed that an institute for social research was a necessary step to meet this challenge.

Already in the early part of the decade, Felix Weil, Max Horkheimer, and Friedrich Pollock had conceived the idea of establishing such a body in Frankfurt. These friends envisioned an institution that would undertake both theoretical and empirical research on society, with the aim of finding a more humane and just model for the future — while also reflecting on why the November Revolution and other recent attempts at revolution in Germany had failed. The idea was supported by Weil’s father, who was a benefactor of the University of Frankfurt.

Carl Grünberg, the institute’s first director, officially gave it a Marxist orientation. During his inaugural lecture, he passionately pledged his commitment to Marxism and declared his intention to use historical-materialistic research methods in his scientific tasks. Since the approval of various actors and administrations had to be obtained for the institute to be founded, Weil originally concealed the Marxist orientation by using “Aesopian language” in the founding document in 1922.