Final Blog Post- Hannah Arendt

 Hannah Arendt- Shelby Baltimore H03 

Hannah Arendt was a German-Jewish philosopher who lived through both World Wars (1906-1975). She is known for her dedication to revitalizing Jewish communities in America after the second world war through recovering Jewish literature dispersed by Nazis, running a youth organization that rescued Jewish youth in Paris, France, and becoming a research director for Jewish Relations in America. Additionally, Arendt was known for her studies on totalitarianism, likely influenced by her time in Nazi Germany, antisemitism, imperialism, and racism.  

Hannah Arendt’s education was very well rounded. She attended the University of Marburg in 1924, then the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg, and eventually the University of Heidelberg in 1928. Arendt’s philosophy focuses on her fascination with the human condition, so many of her works revolve around the many facets of human life. This interest began when she was working on her doctorate at the University of Heidelberg. Her dissertation, titled “Der Liebesbegriff bei Augustin” (Love and Saint Augustine) was influenced by 2 of her teachers- Martin Heidegger and Karl Jasper- and deals with three concepts of love: two of which are “amor mundi” (the love of the world), and “natality” (birth rates). These concepts appear as pillars in most, if not all, of her works.  

Now that we have some background knowledge of who Hannah Arendt was and what she was known for, we can look at her life as it progressed alongside Nazi Germany. At the time of her attendance to the University of Marburg, Arendt began a romantic relationship with a German professor- the previously mentioned Martin Heidegger- however, this relationship was short lived. Later as the Nazi party grew, Heidegger joined the Nazi party which eventually caused Arendt to flee to Paris, France to avoid persecution. While in Paris, Arendt worked for a youth organization called Youth Aliya, among others, which rescued Jewish youth. While there, she married Heinrich Blucher, a philosophy professor in 1940. However, in 1941 they had to flee to the United States to once again avoid further Nazi occupation of France. Because she was half Jewish, Arendt was just as much at risk as other Jewish residents in Europe, but she used her half-German lineage to make strides towards helping the Jewish community. Both her lineage and her work caused her to be persecuted throughout her life.  

So, Hannah Arendt is in the United States, specifically New York, NY. But her decision to flee to the US with her husband was not the end of her story, but rather the beginning. While in America, Arendt made more strides in her philosophy and her movements to support Jewish refugees than ever before. Some of these things she accomplished are as follows: 

1. 1. Arendt became the research director of “the Conference on Jewish Relations” from 1944-1946, 

2. 2. Arendt became the chief editor of Schocken Books in 1946-1948, 

3. 3. Arendt became the executive director of the Jewish Cultural Reconstruction Inc., from 1949-1952. The goal of this program was to salvage the Jewish writings and literature that were dispersed by the Nazis during the wars.  

4. 4. Arendt became an American citizen in 1951,  

5. 5. Arendt became a professor of philosophy at the University of Chicago from 1963-1967 and soon after she became a professor at the New York School for Social Research in NYC, 

6. 6. Arendt reported on trials of Nazi war criminals,  

7. 7. And she published a wide range of texts discussing her philosophy of the human condition.  

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Arendt was a major political and humanist thinker of her time. She was known to ask the bold, provocative questions of the time and share her thoughts on the political and ethical world- specifically on the human condition. As previously mentioned, she addressed topics such as antisemitism, imperialism, racism, and totalitarianism. Her opinions were inspired by her time studying philosophy in college. She began to use her philosophy to warn against politics/the government interfering with the public and private sphere. The idea that the government should not interfere with the private lives of its citizens was a very strong pillar in her beliefs. Arendt was also known to lead a very private lifestyle herself, which was how she chose to uphold her beliefs.  

Like any other philosopher, political thinker, etc., Arendt did face some controversy throughout her life. This was especially rooted in her past connections with Nazi sympathizers and assessments of some post-war. This speculation is entirely up to opinion; however, Arendt did dedicate her life to rebuilding Jewish literature, culture, and livelihood so one must look at the fruit of her life as opposed to believing the media’s controversy.  

Finally, these are some of the basic philosophic views and written works by Arendt: 

Origins of Totalitarianism (1951)                    

-> This text is what established Arendt’s beliefs about antisemitism, imperialism, and racism. She viewed totalitarianism as the result of the end of traditional nation-states. She also saw totalitarianism as something that revolutionized the social structure and put politics off course. 

The Human Condition (1958)                   

-> This text is where Arendt defended the classic ideas of work, citizenship, and political action against her observation of what she thought was a degraded obsession with mere welfare. She also coins the phrase “vita activa” (Latin: “active life”) which reflected her belief about the opportunity of the citizen to be active in the government and how the three types of activity (labor, work, and action) have evolved. 

Between Past and Future (1961) - Free PDF Link 

On Revolution (1963) - YouTube Discussion Link 

Eichmann in Jerusalem (1963)    

Adolf Eichmann's Trial - YouTube Link 

-> This is the work that caused controversy in Arendt’s career that later accused her of being a Nazi sympathizer. The publication is a report on the trial of Adolf Eichmann, a Nazi war criminal whose job was to organize transport of the Jews to concentration camps. Arendt argued that the crimes he committed were not because of a wicked character, but because of “thoughtlessness.” She claimed that Eichmann wasn’t a bad man, but that he was just following orders. Arendt coined the term “banality of evil” in reference to Eichmann. “Banal” means lacking in originality to the point of being obvious and boring, so Arendt was saying that Eichmann’s actions were not his original thought. In her report, Arendt refused to recognize Eichmann as inwardly evil and that is what prompted some backlash from the Jewish community. This work was also later reconciled after Arendt’s passing in 2014 by Bettina Stangneth. 

Men in Dark Times (1968) - YouTube Summary Link  

On Violence (1970) - YouTube Summary Link 

Crises of the Republic (1972) - Free PDF Link  

Unfinished Manuscript titled: The Life of the Mind

     

-> The first two volumes are complete, and they are the last philosophical works of Arendt before her passing. Like The Human Condition’s “vita activa,” volumes 1 & 2 examine the three fundamental faculties of the “vita contemplativa” (contemplative life) which are thinking, willing, and judging. Arendt distinguishes the active and contemplative life and how discussion of the two has blinded us to how much lifestyles have changed and evolved (for the better?) These were later edited by Arendt’s friend, Mary McCarthy and published in 1978 (three years after her passing). 

Responsibility and Judgement (2003)  

-> A collection of Arendt’s essays, lectures, and notes on moral topics from the years following her 1963 Eichmann in Jerusalem publication. 

To conclude, Hannah Arendt’s philosophy was extremely progressive for her time, but it also reflects the life that she lived and what she went through. She was someone who managed to go the opposite direction that she was expected due to her interest in the human condition and her want to preserve the Jewish culture.