Totalitarian movements borrow secret-society forms while broadcasting their aims openly

Evidence

What is remarkable in the totalitarian organizations is rather that they could adopt so many organizational devices of secret societies without ever trying to keep their own goal a secret. That the Nazis wanted to conquer the world, deport “racially alien” peoples and exterminate those of “inferior biological heritage,” that the Bolsheviks work for the world revolution, was never a secret; these aims, on the contrary, were always part of their propaganda. In other words, the totalitarian movements imitate all the paraphernalia of the secret societies but empty them of the only thing that could excuse, or was supposed to excuse, their methods—the necessity to safeguard a secret. — Hannah Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism, 872

Categorization

• DEFINE: Defines the ‘conspiracy fiction’ mechanism: movements adopt the trappings of secrecy, but the secret itself—the true aims—was always public propaganda.
• XREF: Connects to Arendt’s broader thesis on propaganda and the ‘secret police’ structure; also parallels her analysis of how totalitarian truth claims operate. — connects to: Totalitarian movements are propelled by direction rather than structure; Totalitarianism emerges when a conspiracy sector escapes party control — Hannah Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism, 874; Totalitarian leaders drive radicalization while posing as moderates to outsiders (+1 more)
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Hannah Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism, 872

Broader Connections

• Totalitarianism emerges when a conspiracy sector escapes party control #complicates (0.80) — Hannah Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism, 874
• Totalitarian leaders drive radicalization while posing as moderates to outsiders #complicates (0.80)
• Totalitarian movements are propelled by direction rather than structure #complicates (0.75)