German Publisher Thienemann was criticized for changing phrases in a children's book that were "obsolete and no longer politically correct"

"Die Kleine Hexe (The Little Witch)" by Otfried Preußler contained phrases like "neger" that translated into "negro" and "wischen", which used to mean "to polish" but which is now linked to male masturbation. German Publisher Thienemann took the liberty of changing these phrases calling them "obsolete and no longer politically correct" and has now been criticized for it.

"The two little Negro boys didn't come from the circus," writes the award-winning translator Anthea Bell in an English edition. "No more did the Turks and Indians. The Chinese women, the cannibal, the Eskimo girl, the desert sheikh and the Hottentot chief were not part of the show either. No - it was carnival time in the village. The children had a half-holiday from school because of the carnival, and they were romping about the village square in fancy dress."

Thienemann says the changes were made after receiving permission from the Preußler family. However, this didn't save him from facing the wrath of the German Press. "Anyone who believes art should be changed in retrospect because it contradicts the prevailing morality would have been pleased in 2001 when the Taliban destroyed the Buddhas of Bamiyan," ran an editorial in Die Welt.

Bell too didn't approve of the changes saying, "Er ... this chapter is full of kids in fancy dress, not just a couple blacked up as negroes, but also in costume as Turks, Eskimos, and Indians. What is happening to the children masquerading as Turks, I ask myself? Germany has a large population of ethnic Turkish people, some distinguished writers among them. If there is a racist problem it often involves disgraceful anti-Turkish violence. The authorities come down on that kind of thing very hard indeed."