Hannah Arendt’s “Banality of Evil”
- Arendt was a German born philosopher and political theorist
- She grew up in a Jewish culture under politically progressive parents who were supporters of the Social Democrats in Germany.
- In 1933, Arendt was imprisoned for researching anti-semitic propaganda for the Zionist Federation of Germany. Following her release, Arendt fled Germany and settled in Paris.
- She later immigrated to the United States where she would publish multiple books and work as a professor
- Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hannah_Arendt
- Arendt’s concept of “banality of evil” came about when being assigned by The New Yorker to report on the war crimes trial of Adolph Eichmann.
- The “banality of evil” describes the collective characteristics exhibited by Eichmann. He performed evil deeds but did not necessarily have evil intentions.
- Her concept was widely refuted as people did not believe that Eichmann could commit such atrocities without having evil intentions
- “Can one do evil without being evil” is the question discussed by the concept of the “banality of evil”.
- Source: https://aeon.co/ideas/what-did-hannah-arendt-really-mean-by-the-banality-of-evil
The Origins of Totalitarianism
- The Origins of Totalitarianism was first published in England in 1951.
- It was structured into three essays “AntiSemitism”, “Imperialism” and “Totalitarianism”
- Discusses totalitarian governments in Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia
- Arendt argued that totalitarianism was a “novel form of government” as it used terror to “subjugate mass amounts of people rather than just political adversaries”.
- Totalitarianism in Germany according to Arendt was about “terror and consistency” not just the targeting of Jews.
- Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Origins_of_Totalitarianism
- Key Characteristics of Totalitarianism in power from Arendt: mobilized terror, concentration camps, arbitrary arrests, a secret police, and a party apparatus that rises above the state
- Totalitarian movements are different from regular movements according to Arendt as totalitarian movements go beyond propaganda and embrace violence
- Movements can be central elements of totalitarianism as they provide the psychological conditions for “true loyalty”.
- Source: https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/arendt-matters-revisiting-origins-totalitarianism/
Adolph Eichmann
- Born in Solingen, Germany
- Worked as a traveling salesman in Austria for an Oil Company before losing his job during the Great Depression
- Joined the Nazi Party in 1932 and quickly rose through the ranks primarily dealing with Jewish affairs.
- Eichmann became essentially the chief executioner in the Nazi’s plan for Jews and organized the identification, assembly and transportation to German extermination camps.
- Following the conclusion of the war, Eichmann was captured by US troops, but escaped in 1946 fleeing to the Middle East.
- He was eventually captured in Buenos Aires, Argentina on May 11, 1960 by Israeli Secret Service and smuggled back to Israel shortly after.
- At his trial Eichmann argued that he was not anti-semitic and was just carrying out the orders he was given.
- Eichmann was sentenced to death and hanged on May 31, 1962.
- It was the only death sentence ever handed down by an Israeli court
- Source: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Adolf-Eichmann
