It’s been nearly 70 years since the threat of fascism was extinguished by a combined effort from the democratic West and the oddly-fascist-yet-communist East. As time distances the present from that surreal, almost unimaginable period and other milestones take its place–the conflict between the US and USSR, the war in Vietnam, terrorism in the Middle East–the memory of fascism becomes dim for many young people around the world.

However unfortunate for justice, most of us today cannot remember the horrors unleashed on the world by the war and fascism; and it is because of that fact that the art of fascism can be explored in a more unaffected and remote manner. Without feeling the pain, humiliation, and loss that many in the middle of the 20th century experienced, the aesthetics of totalitarianism are able to once again please the eye, being devoid of its rightful negativity. The emotions that fascist aesthetes invoke are identical to those utilized at fascism’s birth, before the attrocities began; those being the combinations of nationalism, art, order, beauty, and horror. Such notions are what addicted many European peoples to the institution of totalitarianism, and allowed them to turn a blind eye to the saber rattling and wanton butchering that began shortly thereafter.

One such group revisiting the aesthetics of fascism is an industrial rock band from Slovenia. The group, called “Laibach”–which is the German word for Slovenia’s capital, Ljubljana–has been in existence since 1980,  appearing in and exaggerating the garb of WWII-era fascists. Their representations are purportedly ironic, although the line is quite blurry. The group prides itself on this inability of the public to discern the truthfulness of their characters. But when asked if they possess a genuine adulation for the fascist regimes of the past, one member responds, “we are fascists as much as Hitler was a painter.” The quote seems direct enough, yet still has a faintly wafting scent of Naziophilia.

The Music

Laibach’s overtly fascist appearance is an exaggerated one, which makes it possible to believe them to be ironic. Conversely, their music is different in that the messages, which parallel the messages of fascism, are much more subtle. The songs are not so much racist, rather, the music is about political issues and life. This subtlety makes it complicated to believe in their irony, as one would have to go to great lengths to really learn the mechanisms of fascism and what it professed. The notions expressed in the lyrics and music videos make their message seem all the more genuine.

Laibach – Life is Life

Laibach’s Life is Life is one of those subtly fascist songs. Lyrically, the song encourages a greater contribution for the social good/state, something which was a requisite of fascism. Furthermore, the song celebrates life in a robust and positive way, which, to most, seems very un-fascist. However, a key component of the fascist male was the bold celebration of life and all of its aspects, be they beautiful or ugly (the ugly included war and violence as natural phenomenons). For instance, Benito Mussolini wrote in 1935 that:

The Fascist accepts life and loves it, knowing nothing of the despising suicide: he rather conceives of life as duty and struggle and conquest, life which should be high and full, lived for oneself, but above all for others—those who are at hand and those who are far distant, contemporaries, and those who will come after.

Laibach echoes this very statement, singing that “When we all give the power / We all give the best / Every minute in the hour / We don’t think about the rest”. This selfless devotion to the state and, furthermore, the complete apathy for the individual, is the crux of fascism . Mussolini wrote further on self-apathy in the context of violence and sacrifice for the state:

This anti-pacifist spirit is carried by Fascism even into the life of the individual; the proud motto of the Squadrista, “Me ne frego” ["I don't give a damn!"], written on the bandage of the wounded, is an act of philosophy not only stoic, the summary of a doctrine not only political—it is the education to combat, the acceptation of the risks which combat implies, and a new way of life for Italy.

The rewards for this devotion are supposed to be great, as in the second verse, Laibach continues “And we all get the power / We all get the best / When everyone gives everything / Then everything will get / Life is Life!”

Knowing the extent of Laibach’s fascist aesthetic, this was, no doubt, a conscious expression. Combined with the imagery of the video–the fascist uniforms, the Alpine setting, the stag’s head rising in the center of the frame–Life is Life is undeniably fascist, either as a joke or a genuine celebration.

Laibach – Anglia

What can’t be said about Anglia’s imagery and message? The song and video are a visceral filleting of England’s politics and monarchy. In the video, an elderly woman cooks a traditional English breakfast of fried eggs, Heinz beans, and rashers while God Save the Queen echoes above. Just then the woman, apparently representing the Queen, descends into a dimly-lit room containing prisoners bound in a fetish-styled manner. The “Queen” teases these nude prisoners with the English fare, while Laibach sings “So you still believe you’re ruling the world / Using all your tricks to keep the picture blurred / Scatter your enemies, confound their politics / So you still believe you’re ruling the world / God save your gracious Queen / Long live your noble Queen / God save your gracious Queen / God save you all!”

It is Laibach’s Anglia that makes believing the irony very difficult. The song is very cutting against one of the world’s more moderate nations, blowing England’s former global dominance way out of proportion. The encouragement of animosity towards England and the status quo was a highly popular tactic of Hitler, Mussolini, the Nazis and Fascists. And as much as these regimes loathed Communism, their hatred of the Anglo-American west was confoundingly deeper. Later in the song, Laibach’s message ventures beyond mere generalization into the personal, continuing, “So you still believe you’re superior / And all other nations are inferior / Any sedition hushed, rebellious Scots crushed / So you still believe you’re superior”.

There are 30 years worth of music in Laibach’s repetoire; to analyze all of it would require much time and unemployment. I am still unconvinced that Laibach’s act is complete irony, their messages are so extensively fascist, so complete in their representation and package, that I cannot help but believe them to be genuine. They are either one of the most genius satirists of modern art and politics, or one of the most ugly neo-fascist groups hiding their true convictions under the veil of the ironic.