Consider Hannah Arendt. Who was she? What did she do? This Hannah Arendt Plaque marks a place connected to a remarkable woman.
Hannah Arendt was a German-American Jewish political philosopher. This Hannah Arendt Plaque is one of many memorials to her. These memorials include objects and places named after her. They also include plaques commemorating her life. She lived from 1906 to 1975.
Many of Arendt’s former homes have commemorative plaques called Gedenktafeln. You can find them in Heidelberg, Marburg, and here in Berlin. In 2017, Babelsberg announced plans to erect a plaque at her home there.
Arendt’s birthplace, Linden in Hannover, celebrates her in many ways. The city library has a Hannah Arendt Room with her personal items. Her house has a plaque. Two schools and a road near the town hall bear her name. The square in front of the state parliament is also named after her. Hannover also has a Hannah Arendt Fellowship, a Hannah Arendt Chair at the Helene-Lange-Schule and Hannah Arendt Days.
Her birthplace features a mural in the courtyard. It bears the inscription Niemand hat das Recht zu gehorchen. This translates to “No one has the right to obey.” This saying summarizes her verdict on Adolf Eichmann. Her contributions to resistance and rescue are remembered at the German Resistance Memorial Center in Berlin.
Hannah Arendt’s name has been used in many contexts to honor her. The asteroid 100027 Hannaharendt is named after her. There is also the Hannah Arendt Intercity Express train. This train runs between Karlsruhe and her birthplace, Hanover. Several streets, areas, and parks in Germany and Austria bear her name. This includes Hannah-Arendt-Straße in Berlin-Mitte. It runs beside the Holocaust memorial near the Brandenburg Gate. You’ll also find Hannah-Arendt-Straße in Marburg and Hannah-Arendt-Park in Vienna. In France, there is a Place Hannah-Arendt in Paris and many streets named Rue Hannah Arendt.
Several schools in Germany are named after Hannah Arendt. These schools are in Haßloch, Barsinghausen, Lengerich and Berlin. In 1988, the Deutsche Post issued a stamp honoring her. Another stamp was issued in 2006 for the centennial of her birth. In 2014, Google Doodle celebrated her 108th birthday. That same year, French philosopher Michel Onfray dedicated a series of lectures to her work. In 2017, the former Casa del Fascio in Bolzano was recontextualized with a quote from Arendt. In 2018, a plaque was placed on the corner of the street where she lived in Lisbon.
The Hannah Arendt Plaque on Opitzstraße 6 marks where she lived before emigrating. Here, she wrote her biography about Rahel Levin Varnhagen. In 1933, she fled to the United States via France. There, she published her important works, including “The Origins of Totalitarianism”. Arendt studied philosophy, theology, and Greek in Marburg, Heidelberg, and Freiburg. Her teachers included Heidegger, Bultmann, and Jaspers. After fleeing the Nazis in 1933, she lived in Paris until 1940. Then, she moved to the USA. She defined her profession as “political theory.” She also wrote “Vita Activa” and the important work on “Eichmann in Jerusalem.” She coined the widely discussed term “banality of evil.” The plaque was unveiled on October 16, 1997. It is located near Breitenbachplatz.
The Hannah Arendt Plaque serves as a reminder. It reminds us of her intellectual contributions. It also reminds us of her courage in the face of persecution. May her words continue to inspire critical thought. May they promote a more just and understanding world.