The Origins of Totalitarianism - Definition and Overview

The Origins of Totalitarianism is a book by Hannah Arendt

Synopsis

Recognized upon its 1951 publication as the comprehensive account of its subject, and later hailed as a classic by the Times Literary Supplement, this book continues to be the definitive history of Totalitarianism, at least in its 20th century guise.

The book begins with the rise of Anti-Semitism in Central and Western Europe in the early and mid 19th century and continues with an examination of European colonial imperialism from 1884 to the outbreak of World War I.

The final section discusses the institutions and operations of totalitarian movements, focusing on the two genuine forms of totalitarian governments in our time—Nazi Germany and Stalinist Russia. Here, Arendt discusses the transformation of classes into masses, the role of propaganda in dealing with the non-totalitarian world, and the use of terror, essential to this form of government. In a brilliant concluding chapter, Arendt analyzes the nature of isolation and loneliness as preconditions for total domination.

Publisher: Harcourt; New edition (March 1, 1973) (ISBN 0156701537)