During World War II, Berlin Zoo Suffered Devastating Losses: 3000 Animals, 91 Surviving, Some Eaten by Soldiers
When war comes, civilians are innocent, and countless people, including animals, die in war. During World War II, Berlin Zoo suffered heavy damage, with only a few animals surviving.
Berlin Zoo was established and operated on August 1, 1844, as the first zoo in Germany. The zoo's aquarium opened in 1913.
The first animals were donated by Prussian King Frederick William IV, selected from the Tirlgarten Wild Animal Park. The subway station near the zoo also opened the same year, which greatly increased the visitor traffic to the Berlin Zoo.
During World War II, Berlin Zoo suffered heavy losses. The first bombing attack by the Allies occurred on September 8, 1941.
The zoo's heavy losses were caused by the bombings on November 22nd and 23rd, 1943, in less than 15 minutes, 30% of the animals in the zoo were killed, and the aquarium building was destroyed.
Only one of the eight elephants survived, a 2-year-old hippopotamus was rescued from its burning home, and fortunately survived.
During the Soviet attack on Berlin, Berlin Zoo suffered even greater losses. From April 22, 1945, the zoo was subjected to attacks by the Soviet Red Army. On April 30th, the zoo experienced fierce fighting. In order to prevent animals from injuring people, the administrators killed some carnivorous and dangerous animals.
Due to its unique terrain, Berlin Zoo became one of the last areas that Nazi Germany resisted. It had strong defenses and underground shelters.
The underground shelters were originally for visitors and keepers, but now they were used for injured soldiers to heal. On April 30, 1945, the people in the underground shelters emerged to surrender.
On May 31, 1945, the statistics showed that out of 3715 animals, only 91 survived, including 2 lion cubs, 2 dogs, an Asian elephant, 1 hippopotamus, 10 baboons, 1 chimpanzee, and 1 black stork.
Many animals disappeared, and the administrators did not find the bodies of the animals, they may have been eaten by soldiers, or ran into the wild. With the post-war reconstruction, Berlin Zoo was rebuilt.
During the war, both humans and animals could not escape. War is cruel, and we hope there will be no more war.
