Berlin zoo

At the start of WWII, the Berlin Zoo housed nine elephants. The only pachyderm to survive the Allied bombing raids was Siam, an Indian elephant bull. The first was murdered in 1940, and then seven more were killed in 1944 by bombings, leaving Siam alone in what remained of his enclosure.

‘War Zone Zoo’ tells the gripping tale of the Berlin Zoo, its employees and its animals in wartime. Its history and restoration also pass review. This is a story of how violence and dictatorship made the Berlin Zoo lose its innocence, but it is also a story of love for animals, human powers of survival and the rebirth of the historic and public icon the Berlin Zoo still is today.