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In April 1961, Adolf Eichmann was put on trial in Israel, charged with crimes against humanity. Eichmann had been one of the chief logistical organisers of the Final Solution, the genocide of Europ...ean Jewry, and had been kidnapped by the Israeli secret service from his house in Buenos Aires. It was an episode that was to fundamentally shape Israel's national identity. Watching proceedings in the Jerusalem courtroom was one of the most influential political thinkers of the twentieth century: Hannah Arendt, herself of Jewish extraction. Her articles on the trial, and her subsequent book, were so contentious that many of her friends ceased speaking to her. It was Arendt who coined the phrase 'the banality of evil'. But what did she mean by banal? Can evil ever be banal?
In April 1961, Adolf Eichmann was put on trial in Israel, charged with crimes against humanity. Eichmann had been one of the chief logistical organisers of the Final Solution, the genocide of Europ...ean Jewry, and had been kidnapped by the Israeli secret service from his house in Buenos Aires. It was an episode that was to fundamentally shape Israel's national identity. Watching proceedings in the Jerusalem courtroom was one of the most influential political thinkers of the twentieth century: Hannah Arendt, herself of Jewish extraction. Her articles on the trial, and her subsequent book, were so contentious that many of her friends ceased speaking to her. It was Arendt who coined the phrase 'the banality of evil'. But what did she mean by banal? Can evil ever be banal?
| Series: | Journeys in Thought |
|---|---|
| Published: | 2003 |
| Rights Statement: | Rights owned or controlled by The Open University |
| Restrictions on use: | This material can be used in accordance with The Open University conditions of use. A link to the conditions can be found at the bottom of all OU Digital Archive web pages. |
| Duration: | 00:43:11 |
| + Show more... | |
| Contributors: | Stephen Ascheim; Schlomo Avineri; Leora Bilsky; Yaacov Lazowick; Avishai Margalit; Johnathan Rée; and Richard Sennett; Professor Leni Yahil; Idith Zertal |
| Publisher: | BBC Open University |
| Subject terms: | Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945); Philosophy, European; War crime trials--Israel; Arendt, Hannah; Eichmann, Adolf |
| Production number: | AUDA543A |
| Available to public: | no |
