In this book, Arendt argues that totalitarianism was a 'novel form of government,' that 'differs essentially from other forms of political oppression known to us such as despotism, tyranny and dictatorship' in that it applied terror to subjugate mass populations rather than just political adversaries. The book describes the various preconditions and subsequent rise of anti-Semitism in central, eastern, and western Europe in the early-to-mid 19th century then examines the New Imperialism, from 1884 to the start of the First World War (1914–18) then traces the emergence of racism as an ideology, and its modern application as an “ideological weapon for imperialism”, by the Boers during the Great Trek in the early 19th century (1830s–40s). Like many of Arendt's books, The Origins of Totalitarianism is structured as three essays: 'Antisemitism', 'Imperialism' and 'Totalitarianism'. Subsequent editions omitted this chapter, which was published separately in English ('Totalitarian Imperialism: Reflections on the Hungarian Revolution') and German ( Die ungarische Revolution und der totalitäre Imperialismus) in 1958. Chapter Fourteen dealt with the Hungarian Revolution of 1956, entitled 'Epilogue: Reflections on the Hungarian Revolution'. Chapter Thirteen was titled 'Ideology and Terror: A novel form of government', which she had published separately in 1953. A second, enlarged edition was published in 1958, and contained two additional chapters, replacing her original 'Concluding Remarks'.

A German translation was published in 1955 as Elemente und Ursprünge totaler Herrschaft ('Elements and Origins of Totalitarian Rule').

The Origins of Totalitarianism was first published in English in 1951. The Origins of Totalitarianism, published in 1951, was Hannah Arendt's first major work, wherein she describes and analyzes Nazism and Stalinism as the major totalitarian political movements of the first half of the 20th century.

The origins of totalitarianism 1951