In 1963, German-Jewish political thinker, Hannah Arendt, developed the idea of “The Banality of Evil” when she attended the trial of Adolf Eichmann, in 1961, which took place in Jerusalem. Eichmann was a crucial actor in the implementation of the “Final Solution.” He had never committed the physical act of murder but rather he was responsible for designing and managing the transport of millions of Jews into concentration camps, his job consisted of office work, mechanically working behind a desk. However, at the trial, Arendt was surprised that Eichmann did not conform to any evil stereotype or monstrosity of a criminal, but rather “terribly and terrifyingly normal.” In addition, a great number of psychiatrists had qualified Eichmann’s mental sanity, describing him as a “man with very positive ideas.”
According to Arendt, Eichmann’s actions were not driven by fanatical hatred of the Jews or necessarily evil motives, but rather by thoughtless obedience to authority, unquestioningly following orders, and disregard for personal moral judgment (explained further in Totalitarianism). As he stated “I feared to live a leaderless and difficult individual life, in which I would receive no directives from anybody.’’ Arendt highlights that Eichmann was not stupid. He even acted quite intelligently in terms of pursuing his career. However, Arendt attributes to Eichmann a “thoughtlessness” that she associates with an “inability to judge.” Arendt concluded that he was evil in a ‘banal’ rather than a ‘radical’ perception.
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