[OCTOBER 14, 1906–DECEMBER 4, 1975]

German political philosopher

A political theorist with a gift for grand historical generalization, Hannah Arendt focused contemporary thought, particularly in scholarly circles, on the experience of exile and in her most influential book, The Origins of Totalitarianism, confronted the worst horrors of European tyranny.

Arendt was born in Hanover, Germany, and died in New York City. She studied theology and philosophy at the University of Marburg, and then philosophy at the University of Heidelberg. As the National Socialists drew closer to power, she became a political activist and, beginning in 1933, helped German Zionists publicize the plight of the victims of Nazism. Arrested by the Gestapo, Arendt managed to escape to Paris, remaining there for the rest of the decade and aiding in the efforts to relocate German Jewish children to Palestine. In 1940 she married an...