Berlin Zoological Garden: what's nearby, how to get there and when to go · 2026

Institutional history includes colonial human exhibitions organized by Carl Hagenbeck, where indigenous groups were displayed in animal houses before crushing crowds. Anthropologist Rudolf Virchow examined these captive performers for lectures delivered on the grounds. During the Nazi era, director Lutz Heck aligned operations with state forestry authorities, while management expelled Jewish board members and barred Jewish visitors.

Wartime aerial bombings and intense Red Army artillery barrages destroyed major enclosures, including the original aquarium building. A massive flak tower loomed over the perimeter as combat engulfed the area, forcing staff to cull dangerous predators for safety. Few large animals survived the devastation, though an elephant named Siam and a hippopotamus named Knautschke endured the fighting to form the core of postwar recovery.