The industrialization which began in the 1830s led to socio-economic problems in Germany suc has high unemployment and mass poverty („pauperism“). Attracted by the appeal of the American labor market, more than five million Germans emigrated to the Unitd States from Bavaria. Between 1846 and 1857 alone in the so-called first wave, more than 140,00 of the 1.1 million immigrants from Germany came from Bavaria. 

For those who stayed at home, the fascination with the American continent was fueled by letters sent home by the emigrants. Travelogues such as those by Prince Maximilian zu Wied-Neuwied (1782-1867) or the author Charles Sealsfield (actually Carl Anton Postl, 1793-1864), Balduin Möllhausen (1825-1905) or Friedrich Gerstäcker (1816-1872) also shaped the specific image of the New World.

In 1826, the first translation of James F. Cooper’s (1789-1851) Leatherstocking novels introduced Native Americans to world literature. Coopers stories are considered the origin of the fascination with the American continent and were used as source of inspiration by authors such as Karl May. May, who, contrary to his own statements had never been to the US before the publication of his Winnetou novels (1893), inspired not only adolescents with his enthusiasms for the Wild West like no one else. 

Around 1910 a troup of about 40 Oglala-Sioux and ten cowboys toured Germany. Circuses such as Sarrasani and Krone also advertised with „real“ Indians. The CCM sized the opportunity ad made contact. 

Parallel to the written reports, curiosity about the „exotic“ was satisfied at the end of the 19th century by „Völkerschauen“, human zoos, where indigenuous people of foreign countries were put on display. The entrepreneur Carl Hagenbeck (1844-1918) exhibited a group of Native Americans – a „Bella Coola“ group – for the first time at Hamburg Zoo in 1885. In the following decades, around 20 groups from America were to follow with Sioux Indians in particular being hired. The exhibition of the „exotic“ also found its place at the Munich Oktoberfest until the 1930s and later. The Munich showman Carl Gabriel (1857-1931) specialized in presenting these human zoos and, in cooperation with the respective agents for the groups travelling through Germany, organaized their stop at the „Wiesn“. In addition, together with Emil Eduard Hammer (1865-1902) he presented „exotic“ exhibitions in the Panoptikum located in Munich’s Neuhauser Straße. When Gabriel joined forces with Hagenbeck in 1909, a „giant peoples exhibition“ was soon on display at the Oktoberfest, consisting of a Sudanese village, a „Wild West“ section with Indians and cowboys and a few Arabs.  

Around 1910 a troup of about 40 Oglala-Sioux and ten cowboys toured Germany. Circuses such as Sarrasani and Krone also advertised with „real“ Indians. The CCM sized the opportunity ad made contact. 

The show, which attracted 5,000 visitors a day, always followed the same pattern. After the entire group entered the arena, a horse race, various riding and lasso skills, the Pony Express, an attack on a settler wagon train by Indians, a buffalo hunt, and Indian dances were presented, among other things. Regular highlights were the shooting skills of Annie Oakley (1860-1926) and the attack on the “Deadwood Stagecoach” (also known as the “Deadwood Mail Coach”), which was saved at the last second by “Buffalo Bill.” Already considered a legend during his lifetime, “Buffalo Bill” succeeded in staging his own experiences. He is considered the man who brought the myth of the Wild West to Germany and established the myth of the cowboy. His show had a lasting impact on Munich and other cities. Not only have scenes from the Wild West been part of circus programs ever since, but playing “cowboys and Indians” also became popular among children, and clubs such as the “Buffalo Bill Wild West Company” (1890).

-Cindy Drexl-