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]].

In Germany, everyone is fat, constantly [[UsefulNotes/GermanPeculiarities drunk on beer]], dressed in lederhosen suspenders, eats nothing but sausages and pretzels, and gets totally ticked off [[Series/FawltyTowers whenever somebody mentions]] [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarII The War]]. If you're lucky, you might get a mention of more recent events - such as the UsefulNotes/BerlinWall and [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff David Hasselhoff]].

[[caption-width-right:349:Düsseldorf according to ''Film/CharlieAndTheChocolateFactory'' (top) and in RealLife (bottom).]]

* German StreetFighter character Hugo has a stage in ''VideoGame/StreetFighterIII: 2nd Impact'' that sums this up perfectly.

* Well... [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oktoberfest the Oktoberfest]]. And '''''no''''', [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness it neither celebrates beer nor does it celebrate the fact that it's October as modern days knew]]. It celebrates the jubilee of the 1810 wedding of the Bavarian Prince Ludwig I (later King Ludwig I of Bavaria, the grandfather of UsefulNotes/LudwigIIOfBavaria) and Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen on the same spot, just outside the city limits of UsefulNotes/{{Munich}} (in 1810, that was, as the city engulfed it. Nowadays, it's in the city centre). Not that it would be an easy task to find any German who knows this. The locals, however, still call the Oktoberfest ''die Wiesn'' (literally, "the meadow").

* The Medic in ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'' is German, and of course has the stereotypical accent. [[MemeticMutation "Oktoberfest"]] is one of his taunts. Thankfully, he doesn't wear lederhosen, though he can put on a NiceHat. A Mann vs. Machine map brings the team to his hometown of Rottenburg, which looks to have situated itself as this for tourists.

* In S10E21 'Berlin' of ''Series/{{NCIS}}'' Tony and Ziva visit Berlin. Of course, Tony buys a Lederhosen as a souvenir und they visit a "typical local" bar with a waitress in phony a Bavarian Tracht serving Tony a Maß beer. At least it's lampshades by Ziva's contact Adam Eshel that it might be better to blend in like a common tourist.

Of course, many foreign authors discover there is more than one region of Germany. Sadly these "discoveries" tend to include regions like the [[TheLostWoods Black Forest]] where they grow cuckoo clocks, [[Creator/TheBrothersGrimm fairy tales]], and gingerbread houses. In UsefulNotes/{{Prussia}}, of course, the men are all {{Badass Longcoat}}s who have [[{{Kaiserreich}} crew cuts, monocles, duelling scars and interrogation sessions that start with "Vays off makink you talk"]], while of course, their DistaffCounterpart TheBaroness is happy to assist. Oddly, while the stigmatic association with swastikas and blitzkrieg is fading as time progresses, this archetype seems to be [[MemeticMutation morphing]] into an image of [[GermanicEfficiency tight-laced]] [[GermanicDepressives basketcases]], {{Goth}}s, and fascistic {{Dominatrix}}es who frequent [[CoolestClubEver badly-lit discotheques blaring]] ElectronicMusic, and their ways of making you talk consists of [[MostCommonSuperpower the baroness]] enacting unspeakable bondage, domination and sadomasochism. But [[CulturedWarrior be prepared to listen to a detailed history]] of UsefulNotes/ImperialGermany before ''[[ThoseWackyNazis they]]'' went and ruined it for everyone.

* Citroën's "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMQnPWjK5pE Unmistakably German - Made in France]]" ad lampshades many German stereotypes.

* On ''Series/AreYouBeingServed'' during German Week the store staff is forced to wear lederhosen. Two of the cast get [[WhoWearsShortShorts very small, form fitting versions]]: [[FanService Miss Brahms]] and [[FanDisservice Mr Humphries]].

* Played with in ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}''. When the gang go to Germany for Oktoberfest, Fry expects the drunken debauchery of his day. He is greatly disappointed that in the ensuing thousand years, it has evolved into a classy, sophisticated event. Lederhosen and sausage are still present, though; in fact, the plot includes Bender entering a sausage-making competition.

** The subtitle in ''Film/WillyWonkaAndTheChocolateFactory'' says "Düssel''heim''". Nevertheless, the town has a distinct Bavarian look. Which is ironic, since most of the movie (including all city scenes) were shot in and around UsefulNotes/{{Munich}}, essentially making all locations a subtle case of this.

[[quoteright:350:[[Film/CharlieAndTheChocolateFactory https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/duesseldorf.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Düsseldorf according to ''Film/CharlieAndTheChocolateFactory'' (top) and in RealLife (bottom).]]

Compare also their closest neighbors, YodelLand, LandOfTulipsAndWindmills, and {{Ruritania}} (if you’re lucky) and {{Uberwald}} (if you’re not).

* [[https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3LObBiggFzA “I Goes To Fight Mit Sigel”]] is a song from UsefulNotes/TheAmericanCivilWar about a recent German immigrant from “der old contree” enlisting in the Union Army who regrets not having “der lager beer” and “der saurkraut, der Schvitzer-kase und bretzel” in the army.

* At a cruder level, there are interminable [[UsefulNotes/TheStudentenverbindung German student songs]], invariably about imbibing huge quantities of beer (''Im Schwarzen Walfisch'', ''Krambambuli'' et al), generally sung at ''Kneipen'' (traditional festive get-togethers).

* Well... [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oktoberfest the Oktoberfest]]. And '''''no''''', [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness it neither celebrates beer nor does it celebrate the fact that it's October as modern days knew]]. It celebrates the jubilee of the 1810 wedding of the Bavarian Prince Ludwig I (later King Ludwig I of Bavaria, the grandfather of UsefulNotes/LudwigIIOfBavaria) and Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen on the same spot, just outside the city limits of UsefulNotes/{{Munich}} (in 1810, that was, as the city engulfed it. Nowadays, it's in the city centre). Not that it would be an easy task to find any German who knows this. The locals, however, call the Oktoberfest ''die Wiesn'' (literally, "the meadow").

* Well... [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oktoberfest the Oktoberfest]]. And '''''no''''', [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness it neither celebrates beer nor does it celebrate the fact that it's October as modern days knew]]. It celebrates the jubilee of the 1810 wedding of the Bavarian Prince Ludwig I (later King Ludwig I of Bavaria, the grandfather of UsefulNotes/LudwigIIOfBavaria) and Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen on the same spot, just outside the city limits of UsefulNotes/{{Munich}} (in 1810, that was, as the city engulfed it. Nowadays, it's in the city centre). Not that it would be an easy task to find any German who knows this. The locals, however, had called Oktoberfest, ''Wiesn''.

Of course, many foreign authors discover there is more than one region of Germany. Sadly these "discoveries" tend to include regions like the [[TheLostWoods Black Forest]] where they grow cuckoo clocks, [[Creator/TheBrothersGrimm fairy tales]], and gingerbread houses. In UsefulNotes/{{Prussia}}, of course, the men are all {{Badass Longcoat}}s who have [[{{Kaiserreich}} crew cuts, monocles, duelling scars and interrogation sessions that start with "Vays off makink you talk"]], while of course, their DistaffCounterpart TheBaroness is happy to assist. Oddly, while the stigmatic association with swastikas and blitzkrieg is fading as time progresses, this archetype seems to be [[MemeticMutation morphing]] into an image of [[GermanicEfficiency tight-laced]] [[GermanicDepressives basketcases]], {{Goth}}s, and fascistic {{Dominatrix}}es who frequent badly-lit discotheques blaring ElectronicMusic, and their ways of making you talk consists of [[MostCommonSuperpower the baroness]] enacting unspeakable bondage, domination and sadomasochism. But [[CulturedWarrior be prepared to listen to a detailed history]] of UsefulNotes/ImperialGermany before ''[[ThoseWackyNazis they]]'' went and ruined it for everyone.

[[caption-width-right:350:Düsseldorf according to ''Film/CharlieAndTheChocolateFactory'' and in RealLife.]]

[[folder: Anime & Manga]]

* 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, Germany" - the capital of North Rhine-Westphalia, a completely different region, which is known for its huge urban sprawl.

[[folder:ComicBooks]]
* Alfi (cousin of ''ComicStrip/{{Rudi}}'') and his village. It's a German comic.
[[/folder]]

* Well... [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oktoberfest the Oktoberfest]]. And '''''no''''', [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness it neither celebrates beer nor does it celebrate the fact that it's October as modern days knew]]. It celebrates the jubilee of the 1810 wedding of the Bavarian Prince Ludwig I (later King Ludwig I of Bavaria, the grandfather of UsefulNotes/LudwigIIOfBavaria) and Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen on the same spot, just outside the city limits of UsefulNotes/{{Munich}} (in 1810, that was, as the city engulfed it. Nowadays, it's in the city centre). Not that it would be an easy task to find any German who knows this.

This 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 WW 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 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]].

Of course, many foreign authors discover there is more than one region of Germany. Sadly these "discoveries" tend to include regions like the [[TheLostWoods Black Forest]] where they grow cuckoo clocks, [[Creator/TheBrothersGrimm fairy tales]], and gingerbread houses. In UsefulNotes/{{Prussia}}, of course, the men are all {{Badass Longcoat}}s who have [[{{Kaiserreich}} crew cuts, monocles, duelling scars and interrogation sessions that start with "Vays off makink you talk"]], while of course, their DistaffCounterpart TheBaroness is happy to assist. Oddly, while the stigmatic association with swastikas and blitzkrieg is fading as time progresses, this archetype seems to be [[MemeticMutation morphing]] into an image of [[GermanicEfficiency tight-laced]] [[GermanicDepressives basketcases]], {{Goth}}s, and fascistic {{Dominatrix}}es who frequent badly lit discotheques blaring ElectronicMusic, and their ways of making you talk consists of [[MostCommonSuperpower the baroness]] enacting unspeakable bondage, domination and sadomasochism. But [[CulturedWarrior be prepared to listen to a detailed history]] of UsefulNotes/ImperialGermany before ''[[ThoseWackyNazis they]]'' went and ruined it for everyone.

[[NonindicativeName Oh, and by the way, Oktoberfest is celebrated in both late September AND through early October.]]

Compare also their closest neighbors, YodelLand and LandOfTulipsAndWindmills.