Hannah Arendt (German, English; 2012)
Hannah Arendt, a political thinker, who is famous for her assessment of the Eichmann trial and the coining of the phrase 'banality of evil' is depicted here. The film depicts the time surrounding the trial and the controversies of Arendt's articles in the New Yorker and her subsequent book, 'Eichmann in Jerusalem' in 1963.
Many of the trial scenes were actual footages of the actual proceedings. Interestingly, it is said that, at a time when Israel did not have TV transmission, the hearing was transmitted live the world over. It mainly drew viewers from the USA.
As it appears, the whole stage was set for the world to sympathise with the Jewish, for the world to look at the accused with contempt. Arendt's article, on the other hand, did not vilify Eichmann but instead put him just as a vessel of a greater narrative. Eichmann was just a diligent civil servant, a non-thinking fool with no ill-intent but just carrying his designated duties. That is terrifying enough, worse than any atrocity carried out by evil regimes. The worse kind of evil is done by nobodies. And the act of evil becomes a banal affair.
Hannah Arendt, a political thinker, who is famous for her assessment of the Eichmann trial and the coining of the phrase 'banality of evil' is depicted here. The film depicts the time surrounding the trial and the controversies of Arendt's articles in the New Yorker and her subsequent book, 'Eichmann in Jerusalem' in 1963.
First of all, the trial was considered an illegal exercise. Eichmann was charged in the Israeli Courts for cruelty against humanity as if Israel had jurisdiction over this; there was already the Nuremberg trial for that, and the International Courts would be the appropriate platform to try war crimes. Furthermore, the Israeli Secret Service, Mossad, apprehended him in Argentina through clandestine methods. Prime Minister of Israel then, Ben Gurion, thought it was apt that the world should hear the plight of the Jews during the Second World War. It was an opportune time for the Jews to showcase to the whole wide world their sufferings through the Holocaust survivors and 200 over witnesses during the trial.
Many of the trial scenes were actual footages of the actual proceedings. Interestingly, it is said that, at a time when Israel did not have TV transmission, the hearing was transmitted live the world over. It mainly drew viewers from the USA.
Rather than seeing a monstrous person, the epitome of evil, Lieutenant Colonel Adolf Eichmann who was tasked with the logistics of transporting Jews to be terminated turned out to be an unimpressive chap. He had no personal hatred towards the Jewish people. He did not perceive his job as morally wrong and was not remorseful. He portrayed an image of a bureaucrat who was just interested in carrying out diligently the orders given to him by his superiors. With a smirk on his face, he gave the impression of victimisation, speaking in a bureaucratic language, comparing himself as a steak being grilled.
Arendt posited that totalitarianism is an absolute evil that is no longer related to human victory but its destruction. In the words of her somewhat tainted mentor and ex-lover, Martin Heidegger, thinking is a lonely business. It is easier to follow orders than to think. People feel that it is their job to just carry out the instruction and that judgement can be done by history or God in heaven.
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| Like a caged animal. Eichmann in a bullet-proof glass enclosure. |
Arendt got a lot of brickbat for that; accusing her of being as anti-Semantic and a closet Nazi supporter. Whatsmore with her past intimate liaison with Martin Heidegger, a Nazi party member. She was also ostracised for criticising the Jewish leadership for allowing such an event to happen in the first place. But that responsibility also fell on the people themselves for their inability to choose a capable one for themselves.
A pessimist outlook on the whole of humanity. The lesson we get here is that this type of mishap can happen anywhere. No part of the planet is immune from it. It is our duty as thinking individual to be wary Eternal vigilance is King. When a person is stripped of his name, identity and personality, he is no more a person, he is just a piece of flesh, a number.
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