September 6, 2026

Kiri and Many, the Elephants Who Cleared Hamburg

In 1945, two circus elephants were put to work moving wreckage through the bomb-damaged streets of Hamburg.

In November 1945, just six months after Germany surrendered, two elephants were photographed pulling a wrecked car through the ruins of Hamburg. The car was filled with bricks and had previously been used as a barricade, and now it needed to be removed. With the city lacking machinery and transport options, the job fell to Kiri and Many. Before the war, they used to be circus elephants.

Hamburg had been heavily bombed during World War II, leaving piles of rubble everywhere. After the war ended, clearing all that debris was a huge job. Since vehicles, fuel, and heavy machinery were in short supply, people had to rely on whatever was still around. Horses, mules, donkeys and even oxen were all pressed into service for heavy lifting, and sometimes, that included elephants like Kiri and Many.

As circus elephants living in Hamburg, Kiri and Many lent their strength to local officials to help clear the wreckage during and after the war. Using elephants for heavy lifting wasn’t new; they had been employed in similar ways elsewhere during the conflict. Their impressive strength made them perfect for tasks requiring heavy loads, especially when machines weren’t available, or the ground was too rough for vehicles. But seeing two elephants, trained for circus acts, working in a bombed-out city must have been quite a sight.

The photos capturing this moment were taken by Sergeant Carpenter from the British Army's No. 5 Army Film and Photographic Unit. One photo shows Kiri and Many pulling the wrecked car, packed with bricks, away from a damaged building. Another one shows Kiri maneuvering the car onto a trailer with Many standing nearby.

When these photos were taken, Kiri was around 35 years old, and Many was about 25. They weren't young elephants anymore, but they were strong enough to do heavy work that would typically need machines or a bunch of other animals.

Their story also highlights how animals played a role in wartime that didn’t end with the fighting. Military horses still had loads to carry, and dogs kept searching through damaged buildings. Across Europe, working animals remained part of the massive effort to move supplies, clear debris, and help rebuild cities. For Kiri and Many, that meant moving rubble in Hamburg.

The photos were taken only six months after the war in Europe ended. The fighting was over, and in the middle of the city, two circus elephants were pulling away the wreckage.

Animals with jobs

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