Totalitarianism from Total Dominationln the essay “Total Domination,” written by Hannah Arendt: she discusses Nazism in the form totalitarianism as “True Terror”. If not for the survivors of the cruel brutality of totalitarian states, it would almost be impossible to believe it ever happened. What is Totalitarianism? Totalitarianism is a form of government in our political system. which gives absolute power to one ruler (dictator) who cannot be restricted by any type of constitution or law. The rise of totalitarianism governments started before WWll, but after the Great Depression when fascism became an ideology of society.
Socialist leaders told the people what they wanted to hear. These leaders not only took advantage of their powers, but became totalitarian dictators of communism and Nazrsm states. In 1933 Hitler became the dictator and ruler of Germany.
Hitler was known for his totalitarian government, which referenced his act based on Darwism. Hitler‘s theories on racism was to cleanse them of the lower class, to filter out the weak and to brutally punish those for the “good of humanity and the suNival of the fittest” (see DanNin’s “Natural Selection.
” On the other hand. Soviet Union’s justification in its totalitarianism government derived from a scientific method by Karl Marx (see Marx‘s “Communist Manifesto,” in the power of classes, Soviet Union believed in two types of classes, progressive and nonrprogressive. In the form of totalitarianism governments Sovret Union was considered progressive and if you are not a communist you were considered a nonrprogressive class that would not amount to anything.
The nonrprogressives were considered a waste of human beings and need to be vanquished or completely eradicated. During the early and mid of the 1900‘s, Nazrsm took Western Europe by storm leavrng a trail of concentration camps. Nazrsm became known for their totalitarian ways by invoking something so horrible, survivors of that time still feel shaken up oyJust a slight mention of totalitarianism.
Germany’s mission was to destroy anything or anyone who opposed it. Hitler knew he had to do something to keep the people from finding out what happening in the concentration camps. He could not let them believe he was a horrid dictator who instills pain and torture onto them. Hitler mentions “in order to be successful. a lie must be enormous”. Germany felt if it can do something that was iust so far»fetched and something so ridiculous that their enemies would not even flinch or act upon would be a great ideology. This became known as “The Big Lie”. Hitler felt with a rhetorical story and distorted information that he told the people, no one in there right mind would ever believe him and find out the truth behind his horrid ways. His big lie became so huge the people who survived the concentration camps were not easily believed. Why concentration camps? The words “Concentration Camp” comes from the Britain’s concentration camps of the Second AnglorBoer War.
Nazis were thrilled to have these concentration camps. The SS guards who were under the direction Germany maintained control of 1200-1500 concentration camps across Europe. Once Germanys totalitarian government took over, these camps became known as extermination or death camps With millions of prisoners. Arendt mentions, “The terror and torment of concentration camps demonstrate “that everything is possible” even though it might seem impossible to reduce a person to a thing”. The purpose of these extermination camps was to eradicate as many prisoners as possible; a good example would be the Jews, Hitler’s obsession to kill all Jews was made it possible inside these extermination camps. As a totalitarian state the camps had no iudicial system. They believed in their own way of liVing and their purpose inside these camps was to Wipe out or brutally destroy all prisoners. Inmates of extermination camps consisted of large numbers of Jews, Polish. Soviet Union and numerous other ethnic groups These prisoners were enslaved, starved, tortured and killed. Hitler’s mission was genocide.
He would kill millions of prisoners by gassing them all at once, Just to make room for other prisoners. In Arendt’s explanation of the concentration camps a great definition would be “A slaughter house inside a death camp”. The horror that was lurking in5ide the depths of death camps horrified the prisoners. The horror that was going on would even make a creature crawl, Death in the prison camps was one of the many reasons why they called these camps extermination camps, Prisoners would die while at the concentration camps due to starvation with the lack of food, extreme labor conditions. freeze to death or it would get extremely hot during the summer and dehydration would kick in with little or no water, Nazis believed they had that ultimate power by being totalitarian state in which no one would question them. They were to treat humans beings (Anyone other than Na2is) to a point where they would lose conscious understanding of reality by torture or by ridicule. “Individual liberty and freedom are erased by the terror of total domination”. Camps were meant to make you feel your life was worthless.
Total Domination was used as a focal point to destroy humanity. Totalitarian governments like Nazrsm was all for Total Domination. “The camps are meant not only to exterminate people and degrade human beings, but also serve as a ghastly experiment… transforming the human personality into a mere thing, into something animals are not”. Another nickname they called these camps were “Laboratories” because the prisoners were an experiment to death. Totalitarianism in these camps was considered “The true central institution of totalitarian organizational power”. The power of these extermination camps brought out a mental disease making several minds mutilated which cant even function after the torment they gone though, The SS-Men would even psychologically destroy the minds of prisoners so intensely they wouldn’t even have to be physically harmed to be totally brain dead. From concentration camps, to death camps, to extermination camps with the last camp considered the “Annihilation Camp”, It is used for the sole purpose was to neglect or starve humans to death. Making them feel the need for food and to die suffering knowing if they Just had some water or a bit of food to stay alive.
With forced horrible conditions, “even if they happen to keep alive. are more effectively cut off from the world of the living than if they had died, because terror enforces obliwon”. The concentration camps were liberated by 1945. Upon liberation. there were a few sun/ivors, but the vast maiority were killed or taken With the Na2is to a different location. Survwal of the concentration camps was unbelievable, but possible, Although concentration camps were intensely unbearable, the torturing of humans to the fullest extent. experimentation of human beings by the Nazi doctors and in the worse possible condition to live in; it is amazing how anyone made it out alive. Compared to the millions of prisoners that were that were constantly tortured or killed in the concentration camps, there were mere few thousand prisoners left. The select ones that did make it out alive, it is almost Virtually unbelievable.
“It can never be fully reported for the very reason that the survivor returns to the world of the IiVIng, which makes it impossible for him to believe fully in his own past experiences”. There few thousand that made it out of the concentration camps alive were provided care and hospice. After recovery, the surVIvors that were treated went back home to their families, but the aftermath didn’t end there. Most of the prisoners were brain dead, with frequent nightmare occurrences, still in disbelief and memories of the horrible events they endured still make one squirm. History explains itself once agarn, the ewdence is oven/iihelming: totalitarian governments and NaZism don‘t mix. Totalitarian leaders are a sure form of Total Domination, Unbearable atmospheres, torture of the innocent and the survival of the fittest equals the cost of humanity in numerous ways. The torment of the unimaginable pain the prisoners had to endure is just mind-blowing.
A Critique of Total Domination Written by Hannah Arendt. (2023, Apr 09). Retrieved from https://paperap.com/a-critique-of-total-domination-written-by-hannah-arendt/