The 1953 Conference on Totalitarianism is an important moment in history as it crystallised the meaning of totalitarianism. This Conference saw George Kennan and Carl. J Friedrich define what it meant to be totalitarian. Other academics, such as Bertram D. Wolfe, Waldemar Gurian and Jerzy G. Gliksman added depth to the categories and definition that Carl. J Friedrich provided. Karl W. Deutsch outlined the ‘Patterns’ in the process which sees totalitarian systems disintegrate and the possible events that might occur within this process. This paper also demonstrates that the regimes in place in the USSR and the Nazi Germany were indeed totalitarian, providing examples of their atrocities, their processes and their subversive actions. The paper will also look at why the term ‘totalitarian’ is relevant today and what a modern audience can learn from this conference.