By Psemdel – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=16735856
In the lead-up to this year’s Munich Oktoberfest, which runs from September 19 to October 4, a censorship scandal has erupted over four 80-year-old papier-mâché women displayed above the entrance to the famous Teufelsrad, or Devil’s Wheel.
At the centre of the controversy are the four brightly painted women that have stood above the entrance to the Devil’s Wheel for around 80 years. But for the 2026 Oktoberfest, the city administration demanded changes to their appearance.
The four figures depict women in different outfits. One wears a blue dirndl, another a very short green dress, another jeans, while the fourth, a Hawaiian woman, sits barefoot and lightly dressed on top of the attraction.
Three of the figures were apparently considered too revealing by the city. Their necklines were deemed too low and their skirts too short. The depiction was classified as “sexist” by the Office for Women’s Equality.
The operator, Elisabeth Polaczy, was presented with a letter from the Office for Women’s Equality when she submitted her application last autumn. The letter contained suggestions for a “somewhat more diverse Devil’s Wheel.”
The consequence was that the figures were quickly “dressed.” White blouses, tops and long underwear were painted onto them. The woman in the short green dress was given long underwear extending past her knees. Even the Hawaiian woman was given shoes. According to the operator, the equality office considered it discriminatory to depict her barefoot when the other figures were wearing footwear.
The city’s intervention apparently went further. According to Polaczy, it was even suggested that one of the female figures be transformed into a man. That proposal was ultimately not implemented. The four figures remain women, although they now appear considerably more modest than they did previously.
The controversy has also prompted accusations of a double standard in the city’s approach to public displays of sexuality and revealing clothing.
The Munich Pride, the city’s Christopher Street Day celebrations held from June 11 to 28, featured people in every imaginable costume, including some who were half-naked or almost naked, but that clearly did not bother the city’s Office for Women’s Equality and Democracy Unit: they have an issue only with traditional imagery used at the Oktoberfest.
The Munich CSU reacted with outrage. Parliamentary group leader Manuel Pretzl said
Anyone who suddenly declares 80-year-old figures on the Devil’s Wheel to be a problem because bare feet are visible or a figure is not wearing cycling shorts has lost all sense of proportion.
His conclusion was correspondingly scathing:
“A toast to prudery!”