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“The Origins of Totalitarianism” The Relevance of Hannah Arendt

The disturbing relevance of Arendt's work is well-known. Nowhere is this more evident than in her three-volume work, “The Origins of Totalitarianism”, published in 1951.

Illustration: © Eléonore Roedel Illustration: Illustration: Hannah Arendt and her book “The Origins of Totalitarianism”

Unfiltered Thoughts The Banality of Smoking

Hannah Arendt was a smoker – as countless iconic photographs reveal. Katharina Holzmann asks how this simple ritual shaped the philosopher’s thinking.

Illustration: © Eléonore Roedel Illustration: Hannah Arendt reclining with a cigarette in her right hand, next to her the television tower, the underground and the world clock in Berlin.

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Sustainability in Architecture Sustainable Building is Not a Top-Down Principle

The German Pavilion at Expo Osaka was themed around the circular economy: a pavilion built with the highest possible recycling rate and a low ecological footprint. But its implementation was met with criticism in the German media. Our author Julia Shimura spoke with professor and curator Axel Sowa about the importance of the circular economy and the challenges of sustainable construction.

Photo (detail): © picture alliance / IPON | Stefan Boness The German Pavilion at the Expo in Osaka 2025

Rainer Maria Rilke 150 years of Rilke: A poet and his ambivalence

Rainer Maria Rilke, one of the most important poets of literary modernism, was born 150 years ago. In this interview, literature professor Sandra Richter explains what made him who he was as a person and why his work is still worth studying today.

Photo (detail): picture alliance / opale.photo | © Darchivio/opale.photo Portrait of Rainer Maria Rilke


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