Wojtek (soldier bear)

Wojtek with Polish soldier

Wojtek (1942–1963; Polish pronunciation: [ˈvɔjtɛk]) usually spelled Voytek in English, was a Syrian brown bear cub found in Iran and adopted by soldiers of the 22nd Artillery Supply Company of the Polish II Corps. During the Battle of Monte Cassino, Wojtek helped move ammunition. The name "Wojtek" is a diminutive form of "Wojciech", an old Slavic name that is still very common in Poland today. It derives from two words: "woj" (the stem of "wojownik", warrior, and "wojna", war); and "ciech", enjoyment. Thus the name has two meanings: "he who enjoys war" or "smiling warrior".

History

Wojtek sculpture by artist, David Harding, in the Sikorski Museum, London

In 1942, a local boy found a bear cub near Hamadan, Iran. He sold it to the soldiers of the Polish Army stationed nearby for a couple of canned meat tins. As the bear was less than a year old, he initially had problems swallowing and was fed with condensed milk from an emptied vodka bottle. The bear was fed with fruits, marmalade, honey and syrup, and was often rewarded with beer, which became his favorite drink. He also enjoyed smoking and eating cigarettes. He enjoyed wrestling and was taught to salute when greeted. The bear became quite an attraction for soldiers and civilians alike, and soon became an unofficial mascot of all units stationed nearby. With the company he moved to Iraq and then through Syria, Palestine and Egypt.

Private Wojtek

To get him on a British transport ship when the unit sailed from Egypt to fight with the British 8th Army in the Italian campaign, he was officially drafted into the Polish Army as a private and was listed among the soldiers of the 22nd Artillery Supply Company of the Polish II Corps. Henryk Zacharewicz and Dymitr Szawlugo were assigned as his caretakers.

Wojtek with artillery ammo – sign painted on 22nd Artillery Supply Company vehicles

As one of the officially enlisted "soldiers" of the company, he lived with the other men in their tents or in a special wooden crate, which was transported by truck. According to numerous accounts, during the Battle of Monte Cassino, Wojtek helped his friends by transporting ammunition – never dropping a single crate. In recognition of the bear's popularity, the HQ approved an effigy of a bear holding an artillery shell as the official emblem of the 22nd Company (by then renamed to 22nd Transport Company).

Postwar

Following the end of World War II in 1945, the bear was transported to Berwickshire in Scotland, along with parts of the II Corps. Stationed in the village of Hutton, near Duns, Wojtek soon became popular among local civilians and the press. The Polish-Scottish Association made Wojtek one of its honorary members. Following demobilization on November 15, 1947, Wojtek was given to the Edinburgh Zoo. There Wojtek spent the rest of his days, often visited by journalists and former Polish soldiers, some of whom would toss him cigarettes, which he then proceeded to smoke. Wojtek died in December 1963, at the age of 22. At the time of his death he weighed nearly 500 pounds (250 kilograms) and had a length of over 6 feet (1.8 meters).

The media attention contributed to Wojtek's popularity. He was a frequent guest of BBC's Blue Peter program. Among memorial plaques commemorating the bear-soldier are a stone tablet in the Edinburgh Zoo, plaques in the Imperial War Museum and the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa, as well as a sculpture by artist David Harding in the Sikorski Museum in London and a carved wooden sculpture in Weelsby Woods, Grimsby. There are proposals to erect a memorial in Edinburgh.

'Wojtek' projects, run by volunteers, have taken place in Australia, Italy, England, Poland, Scotland and Switzerland using social networking to gather examples of good practice and distribute them globally. TEDxKrakow talk about Wojtek the Soldier Bear Project - TEDxKrakow.com

On 30 December 2011, a film Wojtek The Bear That Went To War, was aired on BBC2 Scotland.

Further reading

• Anders, Wladyslaw. An Army in Exile, the Story of the Second Polish Corps. London: Macmillan, 1949.
• Kleczkowski, Stefan. Poland's first 100,000: Story of the Rebirth of the Polish Army, Navy and Air Aorce After the September Campaign. London, New York: Hutchinson [1945].
• Morgan, Geoffrey; Wiesław A Lasocki. Soldier Bear. London, Collins, 1970. ISBN 0002117932.

External links

• Honour sought for 'Soldier Bear', BBC News, 25 January 2008
• Wojtek The Soldier Bear by Patryk Polec Wojtek-In the Ranks of Victors-Patryk Polec
• Wojtek (Voytek) the bear, gallery and articles
• Wojtek - the Soldier Bear - Niedźwiedź Żołnierz, group supporting and publicizing historical projects around the world
• On line museum, devoted to preserving the history into which Wojtek fits
• http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1320417/Private-Wojtek-35-stone-bear-battled-Nazis-remembered-statue.html
• Polish veteran had special comrade , Hamilton Spectator, 25 June 2011
• Story of Poland's 'soldier bear' Wojtek turned into film, Martin Vennard, 16 November 2011