Little rabbit jokes (''Häschenwitze'') were a type of

joke A joke is a display of humour in which words are used within a specific and well-defined narrative structure to make people laughter, laugh and is usually not meant to be interpreted literally. It usually takes the form of a story, often with ...

that become popular in the 1970s, first in

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

and later in

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

. The little rabbit joke first emerged in East Germany in the early 1970s as a politically subversive joke. In

, little rabbit jokes were hardly ever considered anything more than corny.

Plot

The jokes' basic plot is that of a little rabbit visiting a shop, a doctor’s practice, the authorities, or any such place, and asking, "''Hattu Möhrchen?''" (Do you have carrots?). The

punch line A punch line (a. k. a. punch-line or punchline) concludes a joke; it is intended to make people laugh. It is the third and final part of the typical joke structure. It follows the introductory framing of the joke and the narrative which sets up ...

, often a simple

pun A pun, also known as paronomasia, is a form of word play that exploits multiple meanings of a term, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from the intentional use of homophoni ...

, follows in the answer. In variations, the little rabbit asks for unusual things, e.g. cold coffee or something rabbit-specific like

carrot cake Carrot cake (also known as passion cake) is cake that contains carrots mixed into the batter. Most modern carrot cake recipes have a white cream cheese frosting. Sometimes nuts such as walnuts or pecans are added into the cake batter, as wel ...

. Example: A rabbit enters a record store and asks the saleswoman: ''"Hattu Platten?"'' (Do you have records?; ''Platten'' being a homonym of a

flat tire A flat tire (British English: flat tyre) is a deflated pneumatic tyre, which can cause the rim of the wheel to ride on the tire tread or the ground potentially resulting in loss of control of the vehicle or irreparable damage to the tire. The mos ...

.) When she answers in the affirmative, the rabbit replies: ''"Muttu aufpumpen!"'' (Then you have to inflate it.) An important part of these jokes is the assumed inability of rabbits to pronounce certain sounds of human speech due to their big

incisor Incisors (from Latin ''incidere'', "to cut") are the front teeth present in most mammals. They are located in the premaxilla above and on the mandible below. Humans have a total of eight (two on each side, top and bottom). Opossums have 18, whe ...

s, especially where

consonant cluster In linguistics, a consonant cluster, consonant sequence or consonant compound, is a group of consonants which have no intervening vowel. In English, for example, the groups and are consonant clusters in the word ''splits''. In the education fie ...

s are concerned. Thus, the rabbit says ''"Hattu"'' instead of ''"Hast Du"'' (Do you have), and ''“Muttu”'' instead of ''“Musst Du”'' (You have to).

Origin

The little rabbit joke first emerged in East Germany in the early 1970s as a politically subversive joke. Little rabbit jokes often caricatured the shortage economy in the “real socialist”

German Democratic Republic German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

. One of the earliest reports of a little rabbit joke dates back to 1976, when West German visitors of the

Festival of Political Songs , image = , caption =1989 , location = East Berlin, East Germany , years_active =1970-1990 , founders =Oktoberklub, Free German Youth , dates =February , genre = Rock, folk, political music , attendance ...

were told the following joke: A rabbit enters a pharmacy and asks, “Do you have carrots?” The pharmacist replies, “No.” On the next day, the rabbit returns and asks again, “Do you have carrots?” The pharmacist once again replies, “No.” On the third day, a sign at the pharmacy’s door says, “Today no carrots!” The rabbit complains to the pharmacist: “So you ''had'' carrots after all.” In

, little rabbit jokes were hardly ever considered anything more than corny. While popular with children, comedians were less enthused. While Dutch comedian

Rudi Carrell Rudi Carrell (born Rudolf Wijbrand Kesselaar; 19 December 1934 – 7 July 2006) was a Dutch entertainer. Along with famous entertainers such as Johannes Heesters and Linda de Mol, he was one of the most successful Dutch personalities active in ...

described the jokes as “the stupidest thing that ever existed in Germany,” his German counterparts

Otto Waalkes Otto Gerhard Waalkes (born 22 July 1948) is a German comedian, actor, and musician. He became famous in the 1970s and 1980s in Germany with his shows, books and films. His best known trademark are the 'Ottifanten' ('Ottiphants'), elephant-like c ...

and

Dieter Hallervorden Dieter "Didi" Hallervorden (born 5 September 1935) is a German comedian, actor, singer, and cabaret artist. He achieved great popularity in German-speaking countries in the mid-1970s with the slapstick series Nonstop Nonsens and his character ...

described them as "appalling" and representing “a dark chapter of the standards of German humor,” respectively.

References

{{reflist Joke cycles German humour East German culture 1970s in East Germany 1970s in West Germany Puns Rabbits and hares in popular culture