Editing Max Weber (section)

====First World War====
After the outbreak of the [[First World War]] in 1914, Weber volunteered for service and was appointed as a [[Military reserve force|reserve officer]] in charge of organising the army hospitals in Heidelberg, a role he fulfilled until the end of 1915.{{sfnm|1a1=Bendix|1a2=Roth|1y=1977|1p=3|2a1=Kaesler|2y=1988|2p=18|3a1=Radkau|3y=2009|3pp=454–456}} His views on the war and the expansion of the [[German Empire]] changed over the course of the conflict.{{sfnm|1a1=Mommsen|1a2=Steinberg|1y=1984|1pp=196–198|2a1=Kaesler|2y=1988|2pp=18–19|3a1=Weber|3a2=Turner|3y=2014|3pp=22–23}} Early on, he supported the [[History of Germany during World War I|German war effort]], with some hesitation, viewing the war as having been necessary to fulfill Germany's duty as a leading state power. In time, however, Weber became one of the most prominent critics of both [[Lebensraum#First World War nationalist premise|German expansionism]] and the [[Wilhelm II#World War I|Kaiser's war policies]].{{sfnm|1a1=Kim|1y=2022|2a1=Bruhns|2y=2018|2pp=37–44|3a1=Craig|3y=1988|3pp=19–20}} He publicly criticised [[Septemberprogramm|Germany's potential annexation of Belgium]] and [[unrestricted submarine warfare]], later supporting calls for constitutional reform, democratisation, and [[universal suffrage]].{{sfnm|1a1=Kim|1y=2022|2a1=Bruhns|2y=2018|2pp=40, 43–44|3a1=Craig|3y=1988|3p=20}} His younger brother Karl, an architect, was killed near [[Brest-Litovsk]] in 1915 while fighting in the war.{{sfnm|1a1=Radkau|1y=2009|1pp=527–528|2a1=Kaesler|2y=2014|2pp=740–741}} Weber had previously viewed him negatively but his death made him feel more connected to him.{{sfn|Radkau|2009|pp=527–528}}

[[File:Max Weber in Lauenstein, 1917.png|thumb|right|Max Weber (facing right) with Ernst Toller (facing camera) during the Lauenstein Conferences in 1917|alt=Max Weber, facing right, lecturing with Ernst Toller in the center of the background]]

He and his wife also participated in the 1917 Lauenstein Conferences that were held at {{Interlanguage link|Lauenstein Castle|de|Burg Lauenstein (Frankenwald)}} in [[Kingdom of Bavaria|Bavaria]].{{sfnm|1a1=Radkau|1y=2009|1pp=483–487|2a1=Levy|2y=2016|2pp=87–89|3a1=Kaesler|3y=2014|3pp=747–748}} These conferences were planned by the publisher [[Eugen Diederichs]] and brought together intellectuals, including [[Theodor Heuss]], [[Ernst Toller]], and Werner Sombart.{{sfnm|1a1=Radkau|1y=2009|1pp=483–486|2a1=Levy|2y=2016|2pp=87–90|3a1=Kaesler|3y=2014|3pp=747–748}} Weber's presence elevated his profile in Germany and served to dispel some of the event's [[Romanticism|romantic]] atmosphere. After he spoke at the first one, he became involved in the planning for the second one, as Diederichs thought that the conferences needed someone who could serve as an oppositional figure. In this capacity, he argued against the political romanticism that [[Max Maurenbrecher]], a former theologian, espoused. Weber also opposed what he saw as the excessive rhetoric of the youth groups and nationalists at Lauenstein, instead supporting German democratisation.{{sfnm|1a1=Radkau|1y=2009|1pp=486–487|2a1=Levy|2y=2016|2pp=90–91|3a1=Kaesler|3y=2014|3pp=747–748}} For Weber and the younger participants, the conferences' romantic intent was irrelevant to the determination of Germany's future.{{sfnm|1a1=Radkau|1y=2009|1pp=485–487|2a1=Levy|2y=2016|2pp=89–91|3a1=Kaesler|3y=2014|3pp=749–751}} In November, shortly after the second conference, Weber was invited by the Free Student Youth, a student organisation, to give a lecture in Munich, resulting in "[[Science as a Vocation]]".{{sfnm|1a1=Radkau|1y=2009|1pp=487–491|2a1=Weber|2y=2004|2p=xix|3a1=Gane|3y=2002|3p=53}} In it, he argued that an inner calling and specialisation were necessary for one to become a scholar.{{sfnm|1a1=Radkau|1y=2009|1pp=487–491|2a1=Weber|2y=2004|2pp=xxv–xxix|3a1=Tribe|3y=2018|3pp=130–133}} Weber also began a [[sadomasochistic]] affair with Else von Richthofen the next year.{{sfnm|1a1=Demm|1y=2017|1pp=64, 82–83|2a1=Radkau|2y=2009|2pp=521–522}} Meanwhile, she was simultaneously conducting an affair with his brother, [[Alfred Weber|Alfred]].{{sfn|Demm|2017|pp=83–84}} Max Weber's affairs with Richtofen and Mina Tobler lasted until his death in 1920.{{sfnm|1a1=Demm|1y=2017|1pp=64, 82–85|2a1=Lepsius|2y=2004|2p=21}}