This remarkable book has been foremost wherever the characteristics and problems of the twentieth century were discussed. Uncovering the roots of totalitarianism, Dr. Arendt evokes the subterranean stream of nineteenth-century European history in which totalitarian elements first appeared, before the twentieth-century decline of the nation-state and the disintegration of class society brought about their crystallization into total domination resting on mass support. Beginning with a study of anti-semitism, and after presenting the Dreyfus Affair, she goes on to a study of imperialism and demonstrates how the interplay of racism, power-seeking, and economic developments generate autonomous processes that are limitless and aimless. The climax of the book is the last third, which deals with the institutions, organizations, and functioning of totalitarian movements and governments, with the attraction they exerted on the European masses as well as on the intellectual elite. -- Form publisher's description.