German Rabbits The Size Of Small Dogs In North Korea
FILM director Julius Onah’s film of one man’s enthusiasm for giant rabbits is a hit at the Berlin Film Festival.
Karl Szmolinsky breeds giant rabbits. He sold a bunch (a nibbling of rabbits?) to North Korea with the idea of easing hunger. But he is concerned that his livestock did not reach the starving people but ended up being eaten by politicos.
As Spiegel reports, Szmolinsky, a 68-year-old German living in Eberswalde, near Berlin, won a prize for breeding a 10.5-kilogram (23.1 pound) rabbit named Robert in 2006.
Robert was the size of a small dog. When North Korean leaders saw photos of him they contacted Szmolinsky through a breeding federation, hoping to purchase a line of “German Giant Grays” to alleviate hunger in their hermetic Communist state.
At the time, Szmolinsky said: “They’ll be used to help feed the population. I’ve sent them 12 rabbits so far; they’re in a petting zoo for now. I’ll be travelling to North Korea in April to advise them on how to set up a breeding farm. A delegation was here and I’ve already given them a book of tips.”
But as Onah tells us: “In April of ’07 Szmolinsky was supposed to go to North Korea himself and oversee the breeding of the rabbits. But some time between January and April he found out that the rabbits he sent got eaten (by senior officials). All 12 of them. So he refused to cooperate
As ever, this story lends itself to being “beyond parody”. All the more so when we learn that the South Korean government has contacted Szmolinsky.
Says Onah: “The South Koreans would like him to send his rabbits there and they sent this letter which even apologized for the behaviour of their neighbours in the north.”
Look out for herds of massive rabbits inhabiting the demarcation zone…
Posted: 16th, February 2008 | In: Strange But True Comments (2) | TrackBack | Permalink
