Johanna "
Hannah"
Arendt ( or ; ; 14 October 1906 – 4 December 1975) was a
German-born
American political theorist. Though often described as a philosopher, she rejected that label on the grounds that philosophy is concerned with "man in the singular" and instead described herself as a political theorist because her work centers on the fact that "men, not Man, live on the earth and inhabit the world." An
assimilated Jew, she escaped Europe during the
Holocaust and became an
American citizen. Her works deal with the nature of
power, and the subjects of politics,
direct democracy,
authority, and
totalitarianism. The
Hannah Arendt Prize is named in her honor.