The origins of totalitarianism / by Hannah Arendt.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Arendt, Hannah, 1906-1975.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Totalitarianism.

Imperialism.

Antisemitism.

Physical Description:

xv, 477 pages ; 25 cm

Place of Publication:

New York : Harcourt, Brace and Co., [1951]

Summary:

Pt. 1 (p. 1-120), "Antisemitism", focuses on antisemitism in Western Europe in the late 19th-early 20th century, dismissing views that antisemitism was an outgrowth of nationalism. The conspicuous rise of antisemitism in the late 19th century coincided with the decay of the nation state and with the rise of totalitarian society - in particular, with the development of racism and Nazism rather than nationalism. The nation state of the 17th-18th centuries supported the presence of Jews as a group because it needed their specific economic and social functions. Modern antisemitism began with the rise of the bourgeoisie class, which brought about the decay of the nation state, and with the parallel decay of traditional Judaism. Forces that opposed this state saw the Jews as representing its epitome, thus Jewry, disintegrating and increasingly weak, became their target. Devoid of the state's support and of their former influence, unnecessary as a social class, but retaining their wealth, the Jews were an ideal target of hatred. Accuses Western Jewry of political blindness, and of the lack of unity; the hatred of privileged Jews toward their unprivileged fellow-Jews was no less strong than the anti-Jewish sentiments of antisemites. Argues that some of the Jews, fascinated with reactionary ideas and racism, like Disraeli, also bear responsibility for the rise of Nazism. Dwells on the Dreyfus Affair, which paved the way for French fascism and the Pétain regime. (From the Bibliography of the Vidal Sassoon International Center for the Study of Antisemitism).

Contents:

pt. 1: Antisemitism as an outrage to common sense. The Jews, the nation-state, and the birth of antisemitism ; The Jews and society ; The Dreyfus Affair

pt. 2: Imperialism. The political emancipation of the bourgeoisie ; Race-thinking before racism ; Race and bureaucracy ; Continental imperialism : the pan-movements ; The decline of the nation-state and the end of the rights of man

pt. 3: Totalitarianism. A classless society ; The totalitarian movement ; Totalitarianism in power.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 441-459) and index.

Other Format:

Online version: Arendt, Hannah, 1906-1975. Origins of totalitarianism.

OCLC:

1163364