Eichmann em Jerusalém: o homem e a sua ação em Hannah Arendt

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the figure of Adolf Eichmann and the nature of his actions during the Nazi regime, based on the work ”Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil,” by the German philosopher Hannah Arendt. The purpose of this research is understand how an ordinary person, without any pathological motivations or innate sadism, could have become one of the key bureaucratic mechanisms in the mass extermination of the Jewish people. To achieve this objective, this paper will employ a qualitative literature review methodology, focusing on a detailed analysis of Arendt’s original texts, examining them alongside the perspectives of, and linking them to, commentators and theorists in contemporary political philosophy. The investigation traces the historical context, the moral and political implications of Eichmann’s judgment to capture the author’s controversial observation that the defendant was not a monster, but an ordinary bureaucrat whose defining characteristic was an absolute inability to think and exercise critical thinking. It is based on this observation that this research explores the concept of the “banality of evil” as the theoretical core of the study, which describes a new type of atrocity linked to mindless submission to totalitarianism. Similarly, the Arendt’s expression portrays the thoughtless compliance with state orders, distancing itself from traditional philosophical conceptions of a profound or demonic evil. The text demonstrates the way in which the rise of totalitarian regimes destroys the public sphere, turning individuals into mere executors of the system’s killings. It can be concluded that Arendt’s reflection on Eichmann’s actions remains of vital importance today. The philosopher’s observations serve as a warning about the ongoing dangers of political alienation, acritical obedience, and the bureaucratization of life. As such, her theory reinforces the need for the constant exercise of thought as the primary form of moral resistance to barbarism.