mw13 said: “After all, as has been pointed out the purpose of R’ Hirsch and R’ Soloveitchik mixing secular culture with the Torah was only to ensure the survival of Torah-true Judaisim; but today’s flourishing Charedi, Yeshivish and Chasidish communities prove beyond a doubt that these compromises are not necessary for Yidishkeit’s survival. So what purpose do they serve?”
Rav Shimon Schwab zt”l rejects any interpretation of “Torah im derech eretz” as being a temporary emergency ruling to prevent assimilation (See “These and Those”). It is clear from reading Rav Hirsch’s seforim that his hashkafa was not intended to be a compromise or the like, but that he actually held it to be the ideal Torah outlook on life. Dr. Mordechai Breuer, in Hama’ayan 5736, quotes Rav Hirsch: “Torah im derech eretz is not merely a last resort to rescue the sinking ship of German Jewry!” Rav Yechiel Ya’akov Weinberg zt”l similarly holds that Rav Hirsch never intended “Torah im derech eretz” as a hora’as sha’ah. (See S’ridei Eish, cheilek 4, siman 366-367)