Super Short Summary

The Origins of Totalitarianism by Hannah Arendt examines the roots and ideologies of Nazism and Stalinism through an analysis of antisemitism, imperialism, and the operation of totalitarian regimes in the early 20th century. Arendt argues that imperialism, not nationalism, set the stage for totalitarian movements and that these movements exploited antisemitic and racist ideologies to gain and maintain power. The book offers a detailed exploration of how these regimes emerged and sustained themselves through propaganda, terror, and the manipulation of societal loneliness. Topics in the book include discussions of the Holocaust and the mechanisms of totalitarian oppression.