Hannah Arendt Institute for Totalitarianism Studies

Hannah Arendt Institute for Totalitarianism Studies
	Logo of the Hannah Arendt Institute for Totalitarianism Studies
Abbreviation	HAIT
Named after	Hannah Arendt
Established	June 17, 1993
Type	Research institute
Purpose	Basic research in contemporary history and comparative politics
Location	Dresden, Germany;
Coordinates	51°01′46″N 13°43′27″E / 51.02955°N 13.72430°E
Director	Thomas Lindenberger
Publication	Totalitarianism and Democracy
Parent organization	Dresden University of Technology
Staff	c. 50 (incl. assistants and fellows)
Website	hait.tu-dresden.de

51°01′46″N 13°43′27″E / 51.02955°N 13.72430°E / 51.02955; 13.72430

The Hannah Arendt Institute for Totalitarianism Studies (German: Hannah-Arendt-Institut für Totalitarismusforschung, abbreviated HAIT) is a research institute hosted by Dresden University of Technology and devoted to the comparative analysis of dictatorships. The institute focusses particularly on the structures of Nazism and Communism as well as on the presuppositions and consequences of the two ideological dictatorships. The institute is named after the German-American philosopher and political scientist Hannah Arendt, whose magnum opus The Origins of Totalitarianism (1951) is considered across disciplines as one of the most influential works of the 20th century and continues to shape in particular scholarly discussions of totalitarian systems of political domination.^[2]^[3]

The initiative for establishing the HAIT originated in the nearly 60-year, double dictatorship experience of Eastern Germany and in the Enlightenment-driven Peaceful Revolution of 1989/90, and goes back to former civil rights activists who, as members of the Saxon State Parliament, brought about an Act of Parliament setting up the institute in November 1991. The institute began operation on June 17, 1993, under the direction of the historian of Eastern Europe Alexander Fischer [de].^[4]

^ "Jahresbericht 2019" (PDF; 2.3 MB). hait.tu-dresden.de (in German). Retrieved 2021-01-12.
^ Backes, Uwe (2007). "Hannah Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism…". In Kailitz, Steffen (ed.). Schlüsselwerke der Politikwissenschaft (in German). Wiesbaden: VS Verlag. pp. 8–12. ISBN 978-3-531-14005-6.
^ Rensmann, Lars (2016). "Hannah Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism…". In Salzborn, Samuel (ed.). Klassiker der Sozialwissenschaften: 100 Schlüsselwerke im Portrait (in German). Wiesbaden: Springer VS. pp. 187–192. ISBN 978-3-658-13212-5.
^ Henke, Klaus-Dietmar (1999). "Hannah-Arendt-Institut für Totalitarismusforschung e. V. an der TU Dresden". In Mählert, Ulrich (ed.). Vademekum DDR-Forschung: Ein Leitfaden zu Archiven, Forschungseinrichtungen, Bibliotheken, Einrichtungen der politischen Bildung, Vereinen, Museen und Gedenkstätten (in German) (2 ed.). Opladen: Leske + Budrich. pp. 359–360. ISBN 3-8100-2326-4.

[1] "Jahresbericht 2019" (PDF; 2.3 MB). hait.tu-dresden.de (in German). Retrieved 2021-01-12.

[2] Backes, Uwe (2007). "Hannah Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism…". In Kailitz, Steffen (ed.). Schlüsselwerke der Politikwissenschaft (in German). Wiesbaden: VS Verlag. pp. 8–12. ISBN 978-3-531-14005-6.

[3] Rensmann, Lars (2016). "Hannah Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism…". In Salzborn, Samuel (ed.). Klassiker der Sozialwissenschaften: 100 Schlüsselwerke im Portrait (in German). Wiesbaden: Springer VS. pp. 187–192. ISBN 978-3-658-13212-5.

[4] Henke, Klaus-Dietmar (1999). "Hannah-Arendt-Institut für Totalitarismusforschung e. V. an der TU Dresden". In Mählert, Ulrich (ed.). Vademekum DDR-Forschung: Ein Leitfaden zu Archiven, Forschungseinrichtungen, Bibliotheken, Einrichtungen der politischen Bildung, Vereinen, Museen und Gedenkstätten (in German) (2 ed.). Opladen: Leske + Budrich. pp. 359–360. ISBN 3-8100-2326-4.

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