The Hannah Arendt Institute for Totalitarianism Studies (German: Hannah-Arendt-Institut für Totalitarismusforschung, abbreviated HAIT) is a state-funded independent research institute affiliated with 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.
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 .
In keeping with the entirety of Hannah Arendt's work, research activities of the institute named after her â the HAIT â focus on the comparative analysis of dictatorships while also reflecting on the historical and political conditions of liberal-democratic polities. In accordance with the institute's statutes, the systematic study of political, social and cultural developments during the Nazi and SED dictatorships lies at the heart of its work.
Particular attention is devoted to the analysis of opposition and resistance to these two German dictatorships of the 20th century. In addition, international as well as intertemporal comparative perspectives on autocratic regimes belong to the research programme, as does analysis of the political, economic and social transformations in the post-Communist countries after 1989. The institute also devotes research to current challenges and dangers faced by democracy, in particular from autocratic and fundamentalist regimes as well as extremist, racist and anti-Semitic attitudes and movements.
Therefore, HAIT considers itself a point of intersection between regional, national and transnational spheres of experience of the Political in a time of necessary redefinition of liberal-democratic societal models. In line with these perspectives, work at the HAIT currently breaks down into three areas of research and one cross-sectional assignment:
A central part of activities at the HAIT lies in conveying, in accordance with the institute's statutes, its own research results to the general public. In keeping with this endeavour, continual collaboration occurs with various memorial sites, organisations supporting historical and political education, teacher training institutions, schools and players from civil society, who regularly avail themselves of the institute's range of services in consulting, continuing education and lectures.
In the classical print media segment, the range of publications from the HAIT comprises an academic journal as well as four academic book series, in part published in collaboration with co-operation partners. In March 2020 HAIT has started curating his own science blog Denken ohne Geländer [â³Thinking Without a Banisterâ³],. In addition, the institute makes available several databases focussing on contemporary history to the academic research community.
The HAIT maintains its own special library, with currently around 53,800 volumes (status: January 2024) available to both the academic community and the general public for use on site. The collection areas are largely geared to the institute's research specialisations. Priority is accordingly given to literature on the history of National Socialism, the history of the Soviet Occupation Zone/GDR, the history of the transformation after 1989 and on dictatorships and political extremism in Europe. Comprehensive holdings of around 550 pertinent journals and newspapers are also available.
In March 2019 an expert committee appointed by the German Council of Science and Humanities and headed by conducted an evaluation that found the institute to be an â³important driving force for research in contemporary history and political scienceâ³ that has made â³valuable and indispensable contributions to both academic support of the remembrance of victims of the Nazi dictatorship and the SED regime and of political education in Saxony in generalâ³.
The HAIT has the legal form of a registered association, with juridical persons governed by private or public law â such as the Free State of Saxony, represented by the Saxon State Ministry for Science, Culture and Tourism â serving as members with voting power.