Birthday: October 14, 1906 (Libra)
Born In: Linden - Mitte, Hanover, Germany
Birthday: October 14, 1906 (Libra)
Born In: Linden - Mitte, Hanover, Germany
Hannah Arendt was a prominent 20th century American political philosopher and theorists. Writer of some of the most popular political works, such as ‘Origin of Totalitarianism’, ‘The Human Condition’, ‘On Revolution’, ‘The Life of Mind’ and so on, Arendt’s work interestingly cannot be defined to a particular ‘said’ political philosophy. In fact, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that Arendt never wrote anything that represented a systematic political philosophy through which she explained a single argument. Most of her topics were wide and diverse ranging from issues of totalitarianism to revolution, nature of freedom to history of political thought, direct democracy to authority and so on. For most of her work, she drew her inspiration from the works of Heidegger, Aristotle, Augustine, Kant, Nietzsche, Jaspers, and others. Having spent some crucial pre-World War II years in Germany, it was in 1940s, that she shifted base to USA. It was in New York that Arendt’s career as a political theorist took off. She soon became part of an influential circle of writers and intellectuals. Not long after World War II, Arendt served as a visiting professor and lecturer of political philosophy in many prestigious universities and institutions across America.
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German Celebrities Born In October
Also Known As: Johanna Arendt
Died At Age: 69
Spouse/Ex-: Günther Anders, Heinrich Blücher
father: Paul Arendt
mother: Martha (née Cohn)
Born Country: Germany
Holocaust Survivors Philosophers
Died on: December 4, 1975
place of death: Upper West Side, New York, United States
Ancestry: German American
Notable Alumni: University Of Marburg
City: Hanover, Germany
Cause of Death: Heart Attack
education: Heidelberg University, University Of Marburg
awards: Guggenheim Fellowship
Emerson-Thoreau Medal
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Hannah Arendt is best known for her work on totalitarianism, the nature of power, the concept of authority, and the importance of political action in the public realm.
Hannah Arendt introduced the idea of "the banality of evil" in her report on the trial of Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann, suggesting that evil acts can be carried out by ordinary individuals who simply follow orders without questioning the morality of their actions.
In "The Human Condition," Hannah Arendt explores the importance of public life, the role of action and speech in politics, and the concept of "vita activa" as a way of engaging with the world and shaping human existence.
As a Jewish refugee who fled Nazi Germany, Hannah Arendt's experiences shaped her views on totalitarianism, human rights, and the need for active political engagement to prevent the rise of authoritarian regimes.
Hannah Arendt believed that true freedom is achieved through active participation in the political community, engaging in public discourse, and exercising one's capacity for judgment and moral responsibility.
Hannah Arendt was born on October 14, 1906, in Linden, Germany, to Martha and Paul Arendt, in a secular family of German Jews. Arendt grew up in Königsberg and Berlin.
During the early years of 1940s, in New York, Arendt worked actively for the German-Jewish community. She worked as a columnist for the German language newspaper Aufbau. She also directed research for the Commission on European Jewish Cultural Reconstruction. Her work involved travelling to Europe.
The magnum opus of Hannah Arendt’s career came in 1951, with the publication of her work ‘Origin of Totalitarianism’. Set at the time of the rise of Nazi Germans and devastating state of Jews, Arendt in her work argued that the political nature of such an event was not based on any precedent form of government but that it resulted in a new form of government that used terror to subjugate mass population.
In 1929, Hannah Arendt married Günther Stern, later known as Günther Anders. They divorced in 1937. Around this time, she met Heinrich Blucher, a German political refugee, poet and Marxist philosopher for the first time. The two later tied the nuptial knot in 1940. Blucher then was a founding member of the KPD who had been expelled due to his work in the Conciliator faction
Hannah Arendt was known for her love of gardening and often found solace and inspiration in tending to her plants.
Despite her profound philosophical work, Arendt was also an avid fan of detective novels and enjoyed reading them in her leisure time.
She was fluent in multiple languages, including German, English, French, and Hebrew, which allowed her to engage with a diverse range of philosophical and political texts.
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