When German-Jewish philosopher Hannah Arendt covered the Adolf Eichmann trial for the New Yorker in 1961, she quickly became a pariah in the Jewish community.
Her writings suggested that a major perpetrator of Nazi crimes was an ordinary man whose superficiality made him more likely to obey orders. That concept she pioneered, of “the banality of evil,” has endured until today.
However, for many decades, Arendt was considered persona non grata for study at Israeli universities. None of her works, including Eichmann in Jerusalem, were translated into Hebrew until 1999.
While Arendt’s ideas may still be difficult for many to accept, her reputation as a political theorist and thinker keeps growing. A new documentary, Vita Activa: The Spirit of Hannah Arendt, explores how her 20th-century insights are still relevant in 2016.
“She treated so many issues that are relevant today in her writing,” says Ina Fichman, the film’s Montreal-based producer. “I have a 21-year-old son, and his friends were studying …