Copies of Görlitzer Park "Master Key" Distributed By Mysterious Bunnies
The masked "Union of Easter Bunnies" handed out chocolates with the master key to the park's controversial fence locks – and also hid a few for members of the press.
Wednesday, April 8
Easter weekend may be over, but the hunt is still on. A group of activists calling themselves "Gewerkschaft der Osterhasen" – the Union of Easter Bunnies — have been handing out copies of the master key to locks on the controversial new fencing at Görlitzer Park, in an effort to make the Kreuzberg park fully open to the public again.
On Sunday, the masked bunny bandits tied copies of the keys – which they said in a press release will fit any gate around the park not currently glued shut or disrupted by a chain lock – to the necks of chocolate Easter bunnies, then offered the handy candy to park visitors. It was not immediately clear how many keys had been distributed.
The action was "so that everyone, both people and animals, can finally access Görli again at any time," the group wrote. "We demand freedom of movement and open parks for ALL!"
A huge amount of money is being spent on fences, gates, video surveillance, security guards, and other nonsense like the Olympic bid, while there's supposedly no money left for cleaning schools in Neukölln.
Görlitzer Park has been closed to the public between 10pm and 6am since March 1, in a Senate push to curb drug-related crime in the area. Critics of the fencing, which has been publicly debated, highly contested, and litigated in court since it was announced in 2023, say that the fence is a poor solution to the park's problems and constitutes an unfair restriction of freedom for locals. Currently, security officers and dogs sweep the park each night to catch anyone left inside.
On Tuesday, the rabbit revenge squad took it a step further, hiding more keys inside the park for members of the press to find and authenticate. One reporter from rbb managed to locate a key, and confirmed that it did in fact work on at least one of the park's fence gates.
"The idiotic idea of closing Görlitzer Park at night has already turned into a public and practical disaster for the Senate," the "union" wrote in a second statement. "Instead of finally solving pressing social problems like homelessness and poverty, a lot of money is being wasted here on absolute rubbish, while cuts are being made elsewhere."
Petra Nelken, spokeswoman for the Senate Department for the Environment, told Tagesspiegel that the current locks are actually temporary construction locks, which are set to be replaced in the next few week. "After the remaining work is completed, permanent security locks that truly deserve the name will be installed," Nelken said.
Police say they are also aware of the key scheme, which was captured on video, and are investigating the matter.
Meanwhile, the Union of Easter Bunnies has offered a tip to Berliners who didn't snag a key during the initial giveaway: "A new hole has opened in the Görlitzer Park wall near Cuvrystraße, inviting nighttime hopping into the park."
