Philosophy · The banality of evil

What did Hannah Arendt see at the Eichmann trial?

Name: What did Hannah Arendt see at the Eichmann trial?
Uploaded: 2026-10-25
Duration: 24 s
Description: In 1961, Hannah Arendt watched the trial of Adolf Eichmann, an organiser of the Holocaust. She expected a monster. She saw a bureaucrat who followed rules, signed papers, and never stopped to think. She called it the banality of evil: great harm done by ordinary people who don't think. Her remedy was to think, and to judge for yourself.

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In 1961, Hannah Arendt watched the trial of Adolf Eichmann, an organiser of the Holocaust. She expected a monster. She saw a bureaucrat who followed rules, signed papers, and never stopped to think. She called it the banality of evil: great harm done by ordinary people who don't think. Her remedy was to think, and to judge for yourself.