Rereading Eichmann in Jerusalem

Hannah Marije Altorf, in her contribution, “Rereading Eichmann in Jerusalem,” tracks the dispute that emerged on Arendt’s Eichmann in Jerusalem (1963), one of the most controversial works of the twentieth century. The focus of the dispute has changed over time, though one constant is the accuracy of the facts presented. Whereas the debate of the facts is important, it will not take away the controversy, because facts never appear in isolation, but are always part of an arrangement or larger story. What is more, such a dispute can hide some causes of the controversy. Altorf offers a reading of Eichmann in Jerusalem that considers two stories as pivotal, namely the stories about two Germans, Feldwebel Anton Schmidt and Probst Heinrich Grüber. The reading shows that Arendt’s primary focus is on moral questions and moral collapse.