Contents
Hannah Arendt
Examining totalitarianism, political freedom and how ordinary people participate in wrongdoing.
The Origins of Totalitarianism · The Human Condition
- Born
- 14 October 1906
- Birthplace
- Linden, Hanover, Germany
- Died
- 4 December 1975
More people
Hannah Arendt
A German-born Jewish thinker whose flight from Nazism shaped her work on power and responsibility. Her books remain central to arguments about political action and moral judgement.
Early life
Philosophical education
Studied with Martin Heidegger and completed a doctorate under Karl Jaspers.
Flight from Germany
Left Nazi Germany in 1933, lived in Paris and reached the United States in 1941.
Career
- 1940s
Writing in exile
Worked in journalism and Jewish cultural organisations in New York.
- 1951
The Origins of Totalitarianism
Published her study of antisemitism, imperialism and totalitarian rule.
- 1958–1963
Political theory and reporting
Published The Human Condition and reported on Adolf Eichmann’s trial.
Selected work
The Origins of Totalitarianism
Examines conditions that made totalitarian movements possible.
The Human Condition
Distinguishes labour, work and public political action.
Eichmann in Jerusalem
A controversial account of responsibility, obedience and judgement.
Beyond philosophy
Statelessness
Lived without citizenship for years before becoming an American citizen in 1951.
Intellectual friendships
Maintained a long correspondence with Karl Jaspers and other writers.
Sources & photo credit
Life, career and references ↗Photo: Barbara Niggl Radloff. CC BY-SA 4.0 · Original image. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.
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