Premieres Friday, June 27, 2025 at 8 p.m. on KPBS TV / PBS app
Hannah Arendt was one of the most fearless writers of the 20th century, and her report of the Adolf Eichmann trial coined the phrase, “the banality of evil.” The German American scholar transformed her time as a political prisoner and refugee during World War II into insights about the human condition, the refugee crisis and totalitarianism.
After immigrating to the United States, her warnings about a crisis in American democracy during McCarthyism and Watergate continue to resonate today. Learn about her life and legacy in AMERICAN MASTERS "Hannah Arendt: Facing Tyranny."
The documentary, which features actress Nina Hoss ("Tar") as the voice of Hannah Arendt features interviews with notable scholars and historians including Lyndsey Stonebridge, Roger Berkowitz, Leon Botstein and more.
Featuring archival footage and materials drawn from books, speeches, articles and personal correspondence, the film begins with her early life in Germany in the early 1900s.
Born in 1906 to Socialist Democratic parents in Linden, Arendt was introduced to political advocacy at a young age. As a young woman, Arendt began her studies at the University of Marburg and then subsequently received a doctorate in philosophy from the University of Heidelberg in 1929. During her time in Marburg, Arendt, who was Jewish, had a romantic relationship with philosopher and scholar Martin Heidegger, who later became a prominent member of the Nazi Party.
Arendt’s examinations of political institutions developed as Germany’s Nazi regime rose to power in the 1930s. In 1933, Arendt was imprisoned for her research on antisemitism and resistance against Nazi power. After her release, she fled to Paris and helped Jewish children escape, before being detained by Nazis and kept in a prisoner-of-war camp.
Her time as a political prisoner, along with her observations on the Nazi’s threat to democracy and human rights in the 1930s and 40s, inspired her political writing for years to come.
Arendt arrived in New York City as a refugee in 1941, and her written works, which include "The Origins of Totalitarianism" (1951), "The Human Condition" (1958), and "Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil" (1963), "On Revolution" (1963) and "Crises of the Republic" (1972), are regarded as expositions on the development and impact of totalitarianism, as well as the fault lines in American democracy.
Decades later, Arendt’s writing continues to influence political theory, philosophy and social thought. Her views on the dangers of unchecked power continue to resonate in the current world of political polarization and misinformation.
Watch On Your Schedule: "Hannah Arendt: Facing Tyranny" will be available for streaming concurrent with broadcast on all station-branded PBS platforms, including PBS.org and the PBS app, available on iOS, Android, Roku streaming devices, Apple TV, Android TV, Amazon Fire TV, Samsung Smart TV, Chromecast and VIZIO.
Credits: A production of Jeff Bieber Productions, LOOKSfilm and SWR in association with American Masters Pictures and the Center for Independent Documentary. Jeff Bieber, Gunnar Dedio and Michael Kantor are executive producers. Chana Gazit and Salme M. López Sabina are producers. Maia Harris is writer and Sabine Krayenbühl is editor. Jason Longo is director of photography. The film is written by Jeff Bieber and directed by Chana Gazit and Jeff Bieber. For AMERICAN MASTERS, Michael Kantor is executive producer, Julie Sacks is series producer and Joe Skinner is digital lead.
