Von der Unheimlichkeit der Welt

Hannah Arendt
Reading, talk and ARTE film
Wednesday 10.12. from 6.30 pm
On the uncanniness of the world
Hannah Arendt - the thinker
Grit Straßenberger and Matthias Bormuth
Hannah Arendt is the thinker of the 20th century. Her writings and her life reflect the profound upheavals of the time: the rise and fall of totalitarian regimes, experiences of flight and foreignness, but also hopeful new beginnings. Her thinking was irritating and stubborn, Arendt caused offense, but was anything but a loner. Rather, she was a rare "virtuoso of friendship" for whom interpersonal connections were indispensable, according to Grit Straßenberger in her book "Die Denkerin". Matthias Bormuth also reflects Arendt's perceptions of the present in his book "Von der Unheimlichkeit der Welt". He follows the traces of her life and thought from her beginnings in German existential philosophy to the political turning point in 1933, her Zionist commitment in exile in Paris and her time in New York. Freedom of thought is central to Arendt. Grit Straßenberger, Professor of Political Theory and History of Ideas in Bonn, and Matthias Bormuth, historian of ideas at the University of Oldenburg and curator of the "Ach! Hannah Arendt" series, will use this leitmotif to discuss her books.

Short break 20-20:15

20:15 ARTE Film
Hannah Arendt - A Jewish woman in exile in Paris
Documentary by Christian Bettges, ARTE/ZDF 2025, 52 min.
The Nazi regime marked the beginning of a life in exile for the Jew Hannah Arendt, which began in Paris. There, in the midst of émigré circles, she developed the first theses of her later main work "Elements and Origins of Totalitarianism". In addition, she initially showed a strong Zionist commitment, which Thomas Meyer brings to light in detail for the first time in his biography. The film follows Meyer to places where the philosopher and political thinker worked. This cinematic portrait, which reaches back to Hannah Arendt's early days in New York, is the result of an interplay between historical locations and her personal world of thought. It was there in 1941 that she began to develop her theses on total domination, which still have an impact today and threaten the freedom and thinking of the individual.

Follow-up discussion to the film in the restaurant ROBERTS, first floor Literaturhaus Stuttgart.

Supported by the Baden-Württemberg Foundation, in cooperation with the IZKT of the University of Stuttgart, the Hospitalhof/ Evangelical Education Center, the Network of Houses of Literature and ARTE

Admission: 14,-/12,-/7,- € (Film: free admission)