Hannah Arendt wrote The Origins of Totalitarianism in 1949, by which time the world had been confronted with evidence of the Nazi system of terror and devastation. The disclosures of the evils were met with a high degree of doubtful investigation despite a considerable amount of evidence and a vast amount of records and photos. The capacity for comprehension was overwhelming and the nature and extent of these programs added to the unreal nature of the revelations. Arendt wrote about the Nazi concentration camps, as well as the camps of the Soviet Union. She called the camps the most brutal, but fundamental aspects of Totalitarianism. The camps purpose was to create a situation in which a process of total domination could take place.
