"Theses on the Philosophy of History" or "On the Concept of History" (German: Über den Begriff der Geschichte) is an essay written in early 1940 by German philosopher and critic Walter Benjamin. It is one of Benjamin's best-known, and most controversial works.[1]
Composed of twenty numbered paragraphs, the brief essay was written by Benjamin shortly before he attempted to escape from Vichy France, where French collaborationist government officials were handing over Jewish refugees like Benjamin to the Nazi Gestapo.[2] Theses is the last major work Benjamin completed before fleeing to Spain where, fearing Nazi capture, he died by suicide on 26 September 1940.[3]
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Lillawas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Arendt, Hannah; Scholem, Gershom Gerhard; Knott, Marie Luise (2017). "Letter's 1-4". The correspondence of Hannah Arendt and Gershom Scholem. Chicago (Ill.): University of Chicago press. pp. 1–9. ISBN 978-0-226-92451-9.
- ^ Arendt, Hannah; Scholem, Gershom Gerhard; Knott, Marie Luise (2017). "Letter No. 4". The correspondence of Hannah Arendt and Gershom Scholem. Chicago (Ill.): University of Chicago press. p. 6. ISBN 978-0-226-92451-9.