History Main / Oktoberfest

The prevalence of these stereotypes has partly to do with the fact that many American units were assigned the southern part of Germany as their occupation zone at the end of World War II and as such most of their military personnel took their experiences of bucolic Bavaria as the archetype of all things German back home. Hollywood and TV then ran with this selective memory. [[note]]A British joke about post-[=WW2=] occupation is "The French got the wine. The Russians got the women. The Americans got the scenery. '''We''' got the rubble."[[/note]] Another contributing factor is that a significant portion of the German immigrants to America came from the rural regions of Southern and Eastern Germany - notably, again, Bavaria. To this day one will find German-Americans proudly operating [[TheGoodOldDays traditional]] Biergartens and breaking out the Lederhosen, steins, sausage, polka, and sauerkraut at any opportunity, [[StopBeingStereotypical much to the chagrin of any modern Germans trying to shed exactly this folksy image]]. While the intention is an honest celebration of their heritage, it can reach a point of MisaimedFandom and SelfParody at times, similar to the enthusiasm of those of [[{{Oireland}} Oirish]] [[UsefulNotes/TheIrishDiaspora descent]].

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* In ''WesternAnimation/AnAmericanTail'', a rather Bavarian-looking band plays in the background while Fievel and his family board their ship to America in ''Hamburg''. Sigh.

** Then again, it would be pretty weird if it did look like modern Berlin, considering Berlin is mentioned to have been destroyed and rebuilt twice in the series back story.

* A scene in ''Film/CharlieAndTheChocolateFactory'' caused unintended hilarity in UsefulNotes/{{Germany}}'s cinemas, when it showed a tiny South German village on the edge of the Black Forest[[note]]Specifically, they used Gengenbach, in Baden-Württemberg[[/note]] fitting the trope and subtitled it "Düsseldorf, [[LondonEnglandSyndrome Germany]]"--the capital of North Rhine-Westphalia, a completely different region, which is known for its huge urban sprawl (it's the seventh largest city in Germany), its art and fashion scene and bands such as Music/{{Neu}}, Music/LaDusseldorf and--most famously--Music/{{Kraftwerk}}.

* A scene in ''Film/CharlieAndTheChocolateFactory'' caused unintended hilarity in German cinemas, when it showed a tiny South German village on the edge of the Black Forest[[note]]Specifically, they used Gengenbach, in Baden-Württemberg[[/note]] fitting the trope and subtitled it "Düsseldorf, [[LondonEnglandSyndrome Germany]]"--the capital of North Rhine-Westphalia, a completely different region, which is known for its huge urban sprawl, its art and fashion scene and bands such as Music/{{Neu}}, Music/LaDusseldorf and--most famously--Music/{{Kraftwerk}}.

* Something of a subversion near the end of ''Film/{{Downfall}}''. Near the end of the movie, a militia group is seen executing civilians for "defecting" (fleeing the Soviet bombardment). Most members are regularly dressed but their leader is seen wearing traditional German clothing, including lederhosen and the feathered hat. Somehow this makes him more intimidating than {{Narm}}y.