The comparative study of dictatorships, from their historical roots to the resilience of democracy today.
The institute conducts interdisciplinary, comparative research into dictatorships, contributing both to scholarly understanding and to the resilience of democracy today.
An affiliated institute (An-Institut) of TU Dresden, the association was constituted on 9 November 1992 and work began in 1993, rooted in some sixty years of double dictatorship in East Germany and the Peaceful Revolution of 1989/90. The Saxon State Parliament resolved to establish the institute shortly after reunification. It is named after Hannah Arendt’s 1951 work “The Origins of Totalitarianism.”
Research focuses on the comparative analysis of National Socialism and Communism, their preconditions and consequences, and opposition and resistance to them, alongside international transformation research and current threats such as autocratic regimes, extremism, racism and antisemitism, in cooperation with civic education, memorial sites and civil society.
Founded: 1993 (association constituted 9 November 1992)
Affiliated with: TU Dresden (An-Institut)
Director: Jörg Ganzenmüller (since December 2025)
Location: Dresden
Hannah-Arendt-Institut für Totalitarismusforschung an der TU Dresden e.V., Helmholtzstraße 6, 01069 Dresden, Germany
Phone: +49 (0)351 463 32802
Contact via the website form; library: hait-bib@tu-dresden.de
Website: hait.tu-dresden.de
Instagram: @hait_tudresden
Press contact: Network (HAN) contact at HAIT: PD Dr. Steffen Kailitz. General enquiries via the website contact form and the TU Dresden press office.