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In 1932, as the Nazis came to power, the situation in Freiburg became precarious for Marcuse. As he remembers it: "Because of the political situation I desperately wanted to join the Institute. At the end of 1932 it was perfectly clear that I would never be able to qualify for a professorship (mich habilitieren können) under the Nazi regime'.¹ Consequently, Marcuse corresponded with the Institute for Social Research in Frankfurt, asking if he could work with them. They invited him for an interview, and the Institute appointed him to a position.² This was fortunate, for in 1933 Heidegger joined the Nazi party and began making speeches for them.³ Husserl had sent the Kurator of Frankfurt University, Kurt Riezler, a letter of support, and the Institute considered petitioning the University to accept Marcuse's Hegel "Habilitation-Dissertation' — which was already published as a book — so that he could be appointed a university professor. In fact, however, Marcuse never actually worked with the Institute in Frankfurt, since they, anticipating fascist suppression, had set up a branch office in Geneva, to which Marcuse was assigned.⁴ Henceforth, despite later philosophical and political differences, Marcuse would strongly identify with what is now often called the "Frankfurt School', and would make important contributions to their projects.

DOI: 10.1007/978-1-349-17583-3_5

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