"During the Cold War, Arendt's theories provided both comfort and powerful propaganda for conservatives in the West by suggesting that there was no difference between the Third Reich and the Soviet system—Eichmanns flourished under both. For the left, Arendt's 'banality of evil' model seemed to explain how government bureaucrats could operate weapons of mass destruction against civilians and how military men such as Army Lt. William Calley could follow orders and commit atrocities in Vietnam."
In the Los Angeles Times, David Cesarani of the University of London challenges the legacy of Adolf Eichmann's trial, which began forty-five years ago this month.
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