Eichmann In Jerusalem Sparknotes

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“Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil” is a journalistic report written by Hannah Arendt, originally published in 1963. Ardent covers the trial of Adolf Eichmann, a Nazi official responsible for the organization and deportation of Jews to ghettos and concentration camps during the Holocaust. He held an administrative position in the SS and was responsible for the mass killings of Jewish people. Eichmann was sentenced to death by hanging after his trial in Jerusalem. In this book, Arendt explores human morality, the nature of evil, and the complexities of responsibility. She sought to understand the motivations and the mindset of Eichmann. Arendt suggests that Eichmann was a thoughtless character and not a horrendous villain. …show more content…

Arendt observed how Eichmann regurgitated clichés during his trial. “As we shall see, this horrible gift for consoling himself with clichés did not leave him in the hour of his death” (55). Eichmann tried to distance himself from his actions and justify his participation in the Holocaust. He was trying to portray himself as an unimportant soldier who follows orders without a blink. This was a conscious effort on his part. Eichmann played an active role in perpetrating a mass act of wickedness. Arendt argues that Eichmann could not comprehend the severity of his actions and could only interpret his behaviors and orders as obeying the law or complying with government ordinances. Arendt seems to believe that a non-feeble-minded person can be incapable of discerning objective right from objective wrong, and an authority can skew a moral compass even more in such a person. “...the law of Hitler’s land demanded that the voice of conscience tell everybody “Thou shalt kill”...many Germans and many Nazis...must have been tempted not to murder, not to rob, not to let their neighbors go off to their doom” (150). This quote demonstrates how a moral compass can be skewed by a “trusted” authority, according to

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