This paper examines a chapter from Hannah Arendt's "The Origins of
Totalitarianism" in which she theorises about the composition
of and relevance of the
masses in totalitarian regimes. It looks at how her definition of 'masses' does not include specific classes or citizens, but incorporates the section of the population that does not belong to a class or any other kind of social group. It also discusses how many of the first critiques of the book, first published post World War II, were negative and how more recent texts have seen Arendt's work in its historic context, i.e. as an important piece of post war,
totalitarianism historiography.