German Air Force

Berlin Zoo flak tower - difficult neighbour.

Unknown private author.

A 1945 view of the Berlin Zoo flak tower and its environs. The fact that the flak towers were, to some extent, special targets in the general context of carpet bombing made them difficult to live with for their immediate neighbours - unless they had actually fled inside the tower. It is arguable that the annihilation by bombing of the historic Berlin Zoo was contributed to by the presence of the flak tower, which attracted additional and particularly heavy bombing. On one occasion (in 1943) a bunker-busting bomb hit the Zoo's vintage, Indian/Burmese-style elephant house, killing eight elephants. Another elephant - which had escaped in circumstances somewhat unclear, had to be shot later. Best regards, JR.