Language:
English
Year of publication:
1998
Titel der Quelle:
Wilson Quarterly
Angaben zur Quelle:
22,4 (1998) 54-59
Keywords:
Arendt, Hannah,
;
War crime trials
;
Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)
Abstract:
Contends that Hannah Arendt was wrong about the nature of Eichmann and of evil. Although her thesis that Eichmann was not an evil man but committed evil deeds as a cold bureaucrat was widely attacked, it was and still is largely accepted among intellectuals. Her phrase "banality of evil" has become commonplace, almost a banality itself. "Banal" is an aesthetic term, not a moral one. Arendt argued that Eichmann was an ordinary bureaucrat whose only motive was his personal advancement. In fact, he was a fanatic believer in Hitler. It may be that Arendt's description of the "thoughtless" Eichmann was a function of her unspoken desire to exempt her "thoughtful" lover Heidegger from the condemnation he deserved.
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