Professor Amir Eshel’s lecture explored Hannah Arendt’s question – “Is there a way of thinking that is not tyrannical?” – by reflecting on contemporary art, specifically Gerhard Richter’s 2014 work “Birkenau.” Artworks such as Richter’s “Birkenau” underline the human capacity to think and to act even under circumstances which radically question our ability to do anything at all. They help us to enhance and cultivate freedom especially in times when tyranny of various sorts is on the rise.