Listen carefully. Once, Berlin was divided. The infamous Berlin Wall stood tall. It created a 155-kilometer-long strip of no man’s land. Today, we stand at the Kaninchenfeld Installation. It is a poignant reminder of that divided past.
This is Kaninchenfeld. It means Rabbit Field in German. The Kaninchenfeld Installation is located on Chausseestrasse. Look around you. You will see life-size brass rabbits set into the road and pavement. These aren’t just any rabbits. They symbolize freedom.
During the Cold War, this area was the “death strip”. It was off-limits to people. But rabbits hopped freely. They burrowed under the wall. They moved from East to West. Berliners admired them. The rabbits reminded them of the freedom they lacked.
When the Berlin Wall fell in 1989, the rabbits’ habitat was lost. They moved to parks and gardens. In 1999, artist Karla Sachse created the Kaninchenfeld Installation. She installed 120 brass rabbit silhouettes. It marked the former border crossing.
The Kaninchenfeld Installation is a memorial. It commemorates the bunnies of the Berlin Wall. The rabbits flourished in the death strip. They dug tunnels under the barrier. They moved freely between parts of the city.
East and West Germans loved them. The rabbits represented freedom of movement. Humans were denied this freedom. The metal silhouettes remind us of the rabbits’ former home. They also mark the border checkpoint’s location.
Sadly, the Kaninchenfeld Installation is declining. Roadworks and rebuilding have destroyed many rabbits. Fresh asphalt covers others. It’s hard to know how many survive today. Few seem interested in saving them.
The Kaninchenfeld Installation is a unique memorial. It marks Berlin’s years of division. The continuing construction of a new Berlin threatens it. The Kaninchenfeld Installation may lose its second home on Chausseestrasse.
Look for the double line of bricks. It shows where the Berlin Wall once stood. The rabbits were planted near it. The corner of Chausseestrasse and Liesenstrasse is a great place to start your search for the brass bunnies of Kaninchenfeld.
These brass rabbits serve as a reminder. They remind us of a divided city. They remind us of the freedom. The Kaninchenfeld Installation serves as a symbol of hope. It is a tribute to those who were separated. It stands as a reminder that even in the darkest of times, nature finds a way.