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Abstract. The article considers the role of the well-known German legal scholar and political scientist Wolfgang Abendrot (1906–1985) in the process of origin of the West German “new left”. As a representative of the left-wing socialists, Abendrot hoped for radical changes in German society after his victory over Nazism. Disappointed in the GDR, he fled to Germany, but continued to advocate for the cooperation of all leftwing forces, including the Communists. With the outbreak of the Cold War he was not destined to achieve political success, yet he raised a plethora of political scientists, historians, lawyers, sociologists, who for many years enjoyed considerable influence in the universities of Germany. The Marburg school defended the possibility of transition to socialism by constitutional means. Abendrot was one of the main competitors of the Frankfurt School in the struggle for influence on the left-wing youth, but it did not gain wide recognition abroad.
Keywords: Federal Republic of Germany, Social Democratic Party of Germany, Higher education, New Left, Wolfgang Abendroth, Marburg School, Frankfurt School, Critical theory, Communist Party of Germany, German Communist Party, Socialist German Student League, Carl Schmitt, Cold war.