passagenwerk



the "passagenwerk" or "arcades project" - what was going to be benjamin's magnum opus, is a huge collection of writings on 19th century life in paris, in particular, the outdoor "arcades" which were so typical of parisian street life at the time. this project, with the potential to have become a major work in 20th century cultural criticism, was never finished (benjamin committed suicide in the pyrenees running from the ss). it has been edited in various forms since then.

it seems that the frankfurt school, having already emigrated to new york, funded benjamin for this work. nevertheless horkheimer wasn't overly pleased with the outcomes and ordered adorno to re-write most of the fragments benjamin had sent to the u.s. it should also be pointed out that benjamin's extended stay in paris is held to be a major factor in him not being able to get away from the nazi regime in time. thus, some dark characters have later held adorno and horkheimer responsible for his death.

via junk for code