Laibach explains the history behind their name
Excerpt from a German interview in the early 80's
A name signifies the reification of the Idea on the level of an enigmatic cognitive
symbol. The name Laibach first appeared in 1144 as the original name of Ljubljana,
the city "by the stream" (Bach) and "the moor" (Laibach). It appears again during the
reign of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy, this time as an alternative to the already
existing Slovene version. LAIBACH appears again in 1943, after the capitulation of
Italy in the Second World War, when the Germans took control of the city. This was
the period when the Nazis and Belogardisti (White Guard) arrested, tortured and murdered
those citizens of Ljubljana who did not believe in the victory of the Third Reich.
In 1980, with the emergence of a youth culture group, the name LAIBACH appeared for
the fourth time, suggesting specific possibilities for the formation of a
politicized - systematically ideological - art, as a consequence of the
influence of politics and ideology. In this sense, the name summarizes
the horror of the communion between totalitarianism and alienation generated
by production in the form of slavery.