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American Masters

Why McCarthyism was familiar to Hannah Arendt

Season 39 Episode 5 | 2m 00s

Hannah Arendt was teaching at Berkeley when McCarthyism took hold of the United States. She found the outrage, fear and chilling effect similar to her experiences in 1930s Germany: “They are introducing police methods, they name names, and in this way, the informant system is being integrated into the society.”

Support for American Masters is provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, AARP, Rosalind P. Walter Foundation, Judith and Burton Resnick, Blanche and Hayward Cirker Charitable Lead Annuity Trust, Koo and Patricia Yuen, Lillian Goldman Programming Endowment, Seton J. Melvin, Thea Petschek Iervolino Foundation, Anita and Jay Kaufman, The Philip and Janice Levin Foundation, Kate W. Cassidy Foundation, The Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation, The Ambrose Monell Foundation, Ellen and James S. Marcus, The Charina Endowment Fund, The Marc Haas Foundation and public television viewers.
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