The Wallach Brothers and the Dirndl

The Dirndl has many stories. One of the most significant leads to Munich, to the brothers Julius, Moritz and Max Wallach. That their names are far less known today than the style they shaped has a reason that has nothing to do with Tracht alone.

In 1900, Julius and Moritz Wallach opened a shop for Tracht and folk art. They collected historical models, had fabrics made to their own designs and developed an unmistakable signature. Their brother Max later ran the workshops in Dachau. From their work together grew a house whose Dirndls and printed fabrics drew attention far beyond Munich. For the centenary of the Oktoberfest in 1910, the Wallachs dressed the historical costume parade. With the operetta Im weißen Rössl (White Horse Inn), their Dirndls finally reached international stages from 1930 onwards.

A few years later, the National Socialists forced the Jewish entrepreneurs out of the business they had built. On 1 August 1938, Moritz Wallach had to hand over the keys. He and Julius were able to leave Germany. Max and his wife Melly did not manage to escape. Both were deported and murdered in Auschwitz.

At the same time, the Tracht whose renown the Wallachs had helped to build was appropriated by the National Socialists for their idea of a "German" culture. This contradiction is part of its history. Anyone who speaks about the Dirndl today should therefore also name those who shaped it with skill and imagination – and whose origins proved fatal to them.

Sources: Jewish Museum Munich and The Wallach Project.