Hannah Arendt (1906–1975)

Banal means lacking in originality or boring. It is a fitting description of the Nazis’ imaginations behind the Holocaust. This crime against humanity was so hideous that international laws were created to try those culpable. Adolf Eichmann was among the planners of the “Final Solution” and fled to Argentina. The new state of Israel had to kidnap him in order to bring him to justice in Israeli courts. He never denied the charges against him and was eventually hanged as punishment. In this book, Hannah Arendt analyzes his trial to show how even an “enlightened” country like Germany could fall to such evil.

This report is not an exciting work. Though crimes and wars are often glamorized, she shows how utterly boring they are. She further demonstrates how an entire culture can fall prey to hideous evils through pride and an excuse that everybody’s doing it. When humans become only self-interested and driven only by self-promotion, we are capable of ignoring our consciences and our own humanity. In the modern world, individuals must learn to say, “no” and “never again,” instead of just passing the buck to the next person.

I appreciate this book’s insights about how Nazi Germany took shape. Before World War I, Germany was considered to have the leading culture in the world – educationally, ethically, scientifically, and artistically. Yet they fell prey to a nationalism that denied the humanity of those not of the “Aryan race,” whatever that means. If they can fall, anyone can fall.

This account, though heavy throughout, reminds me of the seriousness of national politics. It’s easy in a democracy to look upon our political class as entertainers, not leaders. Often, that entertainment leads to beating up on and “othering” someone else. This story shows how that mistake can happen even to the best and the brightest. It shows how only care and conscience can bring justice and love into the world.… (more)

DNF

I'd been looking forward to reading this book for years. I'd heard great things, and the reviews on here got me even more excited. Unfortunately I found this book not only boring as all get out but also very out of date.

My main beefs:

She gets imperialism and anarchism confused, which definitely isn't easy to do.

She refers to the American continent as a place that had no culture or history before white people showed up.

Eventually, halfway through the second of three parts, I skipped to the final part. In the first paragraph she talks about how fascist leaders are instantly forgotten, and uses the example of Hitler. She claims that Hitler is irrelevant to neo-nazi and neo-fascist groups, which is one of the most out of touch statements I've ever read.

I'm gonna put this book back on my shelf and listen to some podcasts about it… (more)

Not quite the work I was expecting. The first third, a history of European anti-semitism deserves to be its own, separate study. The next third is a history of 19th century Imperialism through the First World War, and seems again to be loosely related, if at all, to what follows.

Finally, the final third addresses totalitarianism, and is a product of its time - the echoes of the second world war still ringing. Confusingly, some of it speaks of Stalin's USSR in the present tense, and some parts are edited later after his death.

What should have been the books strongest chapters instead ramble as poorly organized lecture notes. Four times in the final section Arendt describes the SS as the 'transmission belt' of the Nazis. Perhaps it is a translation issue. 'Driving force' or to stick with the analogy, simply 'ratchet' would make more sense. It really stood out to this reader as a loosely organized set of notes after the 2nd repetition, let alone the fourth.

Her closing argument that loneliness lies at the heart of totalitarianism seems indisputable.… (more)