The Banality of Evil

Paper Summary:

This paper is based on Hannah Arendt?s "Eichmann in Jerusalem". It discusses two views of the Holocaust: one that the perpetrators were Germans nurtured on a centuries old anti-Semitism tradition; and another that the perpetrators were ordinary people, caught up in a bureaucratized system of annihilation that encouraged unthinking complicity that made this evil seem banal or ordinary because everyone was going along with it. That these two views are easily reconciled is the thesis of the paper. Elie Wiesel?s "Night" and Michael Dobkowski?s "Genocide and The Modern Age" are used to supplement discussion of Arendt?s treatment of the trial of Adolf Eichmann.

From the Paper:

"It is true that the Holocaust was perpetrated by Germans with a long history of pervasive inhumane anti-Semitic views. It is also valid to say that the Holocaust was facilitated by banal acceptance of a bureaucratized system of annihilation. With centuries of hatred, and barbarous treatment of Jews as precedent, it was easy for the Germans to move on to state sanctioned systematized slaughter. Those whose upbringing had taught them to hate Jews, might move quickly into positions of power in the Third Reich. Others who weren't capable of thinking for themselves, saw everyone else, including those they respected and admired supporting Hitler's answers to the Jewish question. A long tradition of anti-Semitism joined with unthinking complicity to escalate the banality of evil. As evil progressed through stages of classification, ghettoization, deportation, and concentration to eradication, it was just another step in the progression of dehumanization for those who had forgotten the unity of the human community."

More papers on The Banality of Evil:

• Persuasive Essay # 74874 : "The Banality of Evil"
• Research Paper # 66881 : "Karl Adolf Eichmann: The Banality of Evil"
• Book Review # 100931 : "Psychology of the Holocaust"

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