Hannah Arendt

1

But, Hannah,

how can you defend him?

But I'm not defending him.

You can hardly forget that your

husband is my friend because of you.

And I don't throw

my friends away so quickly.

No matter what happens, even if Jim

were killed in an airplane crash,

I would never, ever

go back to Bowden.

That's clear.

And poor Bowden knows absolutely that he

cannot prevent you from loving another man.

He is not stupid.

Then why is he trying

to prevent our divorce?

Because, under such circumstances,

it's only natural...

that people imagine-

or at least hope-

to have some possibility of power.

Hans Jonas is on the phone.

Not now, later. I'll call him back.

Oh, Mary, they are beautiful.

Thank you.

I don't know how you can

believe anything he says these days.

Well, you trusted him enough

to be married with him for 15 years.

I never trusted him.

It's Professor Miller calling from Connecticut.

He said it's urgent.

He has some questions about your syllabus.

Phone appointment-

tomorrow, please.

And unplug that phone.

Look, Mary, either you are willing to take

men as they are, or you must live alone.

- You won't change Jim either.

- I don't want to change Jim. He's perfect.

Perfect?

The men in your novels

are not perfect.

Why do you expect the real ones

to be any better?

That was Heinrich.

Oh, no.

That's the one phone call

I would have taken.

He said not to disturb you

when your darling Mary is here.

- When will he be home?

- He's spending the night up there.

He has to meet a student

early in the morning.

Thanks, Lotte.

No student meets early in the morning.

Mary, don't start. I would be far too

jealous for your charming Heinrich.

It's fine. Well, I suppose we can't

all be wild Berliners like you.

Wild because we don't marry

all our lovers?

Oh, I didn't marry all of them.

But almost.

I couldn't sleep at all last night.

We don't have to talk about it

right away.

Haven't you read the newspaper?

From beginning to end, Frau Professor.

They want his trial to be in Jerusalem!

Why else would the Mossad

have kidnapped him?

You think that's right?

They should have shot him

on the spot in Buenos Aires.

But then of course...

You forgot to say hello.

Hello.

The investigation has revealed...

that Adolf Eichmann's escape

from Germany to South America...

was made possible with a Red Cross passport

that the Vatican helped him obtain.

No! The pope would never help

a Nazi escape.

No, he helped him because he

was such a good Catholic.

But God didn't let him get away.

God didn't.

But the Germans did.

You'll see.

They won't try to extradite him.

The former SS officer...

followed what was secretly known in

espionage circles as the ratline.

Eichmann received his forged

identification and passport in Genoa,

and then he boarded an Italian

ship to Buenos Aires.

"You will perhaps understand

why I want to attend Eichmann's trial.

I left Germany in 1933,

and I missed Nuremberg.

I never saw a Nazi"-

Um-Oh, wait.

"I never saw 'these people'

in the flesh"?

"People in the flesh."

I think that's better.

Better, yes.

Isn't it incredible that the Hannah

Arendt is offering to report for us?

It would be a privilege to have a German-Jewish

migr of such high standing cover the trial.

There's no doubt about that.

Who is she to be offering?

She should be begging to write for

the New Yorker, like everyone else.

Frances, she wrote

The Origins of Totalitarianism.

Catchy title.

One of the most important books

of the 20th century.

Read it.

Uh-oh.

She's not one of those

European philosophers, is she?

She was the first person to write about the Third

Reich in the context of Western civilization.

It was brilliant, but abstract.

I understand why she wants to go.

Philosophers don't make deadlines.

Call now.

Do it.

Do you really have to do this?

You remember how shocked we were

when we heard

the awful news from Europe...

How destroyed you were?

I'd never forgive myself

if I didn't take this opportunity.

You told everyone how smart and

brave I was to escape from Gurs.

And so you were, my love.

Many women stayed for fear

their husbands wouldn't find them

if they left the camp.

I'd have found you anywhere.

Maybe not.

While it was still summer and warm...

we hoped it would soon be over.

But then...

The waiting...

More and more women let themselves

go, stopped combing their hair...

Stopped washing themselves.

Just lay there on their straw sacks.

I tried to encourage them.

Sometimes I was strict,

sometimes friendly.

But then, one evening...

it had rained all day

and the straw sacks were falling apart.

I suddenly lost my courage.

I was so tired.

So tired...

that I wanted to leave

the world

that I so loved.

And in that instant...

I saw you in front of me.

How you'd look for me, and...

not find me.

Now do you understand

why I don't want you to go?

Summis cum gratulationibus.

Hannah... great!

You asked them?

And they just said yes?

Yes. Simple as that.

Everything's simple for a genius.

Don't exaggerate.

I hope you're still teaching next term.

You will hear all about that

when the tribe comes over.

You know,

I almost dread this trip.

I wish I could accompany you.

Oh Hans, that would be so nice.

Need a light, Mrs. Arendt?

Oh. Thank you.

You're very welcome.

Nixon's usually an unrepentant

bulldog, but he's lost his nerve.

He's like a frightened schoolboy

wanting to be liked.

He's even trying to get

Kennedy's approval.

Nixon is a liar. It's a strategy.

He only cares about his career.

- That's why he's going to win.

- No. Nixon calculates.

But Kennedy is young and

handsome and inspiring,

and that is what matters

when the ships are down.

"Chips."

Hannah, "chips," not "ships."

Oh, that must be Hans and Lore.

"chips."

English can only be

a second-rate fiddle for us.

If you want to hear Hannah play her

Stradivarius, you should learn German.

- She asked me to correct her.

- Ah, at last!

Impossible.

Must have been someone else.

Our train was late.

Of course.

We know that excuse.

Coats off.

Everyone's here.

Great that you made it.

Meet the latest member of the tribe.

Professor Miller, Hans and Lore Jonas.

Such a pleasure to finally meet you.

Professor Miller, it's an honor.

Hannah tells me you're her oldest

and dearest friend.

The oldest for sure,

but not the dearest.

Oh, Heinrich is much older than me.

And much better looking.

Did you already know

each other back in Germany?

Thomas, I said "old friend." In Europe that

means we met more than 10 minutes ago.

They met in the '20s as students of

Heidegger, the Hosenmatz philosopher.

Don't say my name

in the same breath as that Nazi.

Not here, Hans!

So, you were all students

of the confounding Martin Heidegger.

Oh, I didn't even finish high school.

But aren't you

a professor at Bard?

Original thinkers don't need degrees, Professor Miller.

To Hannah,

in honor of her trip

to Jerusalem.

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