Rabbit a la Berlin

Rabbit a la Berlin (2009) is a Polish documentary short that tells the surprising story of the wild rabbits who made their home in the death strip between the two walls of the Berlin Wall, living in an accidental paradise free from predators and human interference.

Plot

Through archival footage and narration, the film follows a colony of rabbits that colonized the death strip along the Berlin Wall. The strip of grass between the inner and outer walls, designed to give border guards clear sight lines for shooting escapees, became an unintended nature reserve. The rabbits bred freely, protected from cars, dogs, and hunters by the very fortifications meant to imprison humans. The film traces their story from the Wall’s construction through its fall, when the rabbits suddenly faced a world without borders — and without protection.

Berlin Wall Connection

The entire film is about the Berlin Wall, viewed from a unique and unexpected perspective. By telling the Wall’s history through the eyes of its animal inhabitants, the documentary offers a fresh meditation on freedom, captivity, and the unintended consequences of political barriers. The rabbits serve as an allegory: creatures who thrived in confinement, only to face new threats when that confinement ended. East German border guards reportedly fed the rabbits, and their presence was documented in surveillance footage that the filmmakers obtained from archives.

Filming and Production

Director Bartek Konopka assembled the film from East German border surveillance footage, West German news broadcasts, and new footage of Berlin’s modern rabbit population. The original Polish title is “Krolik po berlinsku.” The 40-minute documentary was produced by Polish production company Platige Image with support from the Polish Film Institute. The narration is delivered with dry humor, treating the rabbits’ story as a parallel national history.

Cultural Impact

Rabbit a la Berlin was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Subject in 2010, bringing international attention to this quirky footnote of Cold War history. The film won numerous festival awards and was praised for finding an entirely original angle on a story that had been told many times. It remains one of the most creative and memorable documentaries about the Berlin Wall, proving that even the most documented historical events can still yield surprising stories.

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