Hannah Arendt

High school (ages 12+)
Philosophy & Big Questions

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Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/hannah-arendt

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. When was Hannah Arendt born?October 14, 1906
2. Where was Hannah Arendt born?Linden, Germany
3. When did Hannah Arendt die?December 4, 1975 (age 69)
4. What is the intellectual influences?Martin Heidegger, Karl Jaspers, and Saint Augustine
5. Who was Hannah Arendt?Hannah Arendt was a smart thinker from Germany who studied philosophy and wrote about fairness, power, and what it means to be human.
6. Why did Hannah Arendt leave Germany?She had to leave because the Nazis were hurting Jews and she was briefly imprisoned by the Gestapo.

Totalitarianism: A political system where the state exercises absolute control over all aspects of public and private life, suppressing opposition.
The Banality of Evil: Arendt's concept suggesting that evil acts can be committed by ordinary people who fail to think critically and simply follow orders.
Political Action: Arendt's term for human activity in the public sphere, characterized by speech, persuasion, and collective decision-making.
Plurality: The condition of human existence where individuals live on Earth and inhabit the world in company with others, distinct yet interconnected.