The words "World War II" evoke horrid images and intense emotions of a period of global destruction, cruelty, and inhumanity. While it is certainly important to remember all the horrible events, we can also appreciate the wholesome stories of camaraderie and bravery. And the story of Wojtek the bear is one of those.
The story of Wojtek begins in the mountains of Hamadan, Iran. The young Syrian brown bear cub, whose mother was killed by a hunter, was found and kept by a shepherd. However, when a group of Polish soldiers came across the young bear, his playful spirit prompted them to adopt the young bear cub and take him with them on their adventures of the war.
The Polish soldiers were on their way to Alexandria, Egypt to be shipped off to fight in Europe. They had come from Siberia, where they had been Soviet prisoners of war. In September 1939, Stalin and Hitler led a joint invasion of Poland, with the Nazis invading from the west and the Soviets invading from the east. During the invasion, as any army does, the Soviets took Polish soldiers as prisoners and sent them to the Siberian Gulags. However, in 1941, when Hitler broke his non-aggression pact with the Soviets by launching his full-scale invasion of the Soviet Union, Operation Barbarossa, Stalin needed more men. He came to an agreement with the allies in 1942 to release the Polish citizens and soldiers to help them in their fight against the Nazis.
The bear kept the men company on their journey through the Middle East. In the sweltering hot desert, the thirsty young bear used to drink condensed milk from vodka bottles until he grew up and moved on to beer. Dymitr Szawlugo, one of the Polish soldiers, once wrote that the bear used to throw back a beer with them, and once it was finished he would put the bottle opening to his eye to see if there was any more beer. He would also accept lit cigarettes only to take one puff and swallow the cigarette whole. The bear would also play games, such as chasing the oranges soldiers threw for grenade practice (Foley, TIME). The bear stayed with the regiment, drinking beer and wrestling with any soldier brave enough to take him on. However, once the soldiers reached Egypt, a problem arose.
It was time for them to be shipped to Europe. The bear wasn’t allowed to come with them by law, but the soldiers weren’t ready to let him go. The group found a loophole. Only enlisted Polish soldiers could come with them, so they decided they needed to enlist the bear. Wojtek was enlisted as a soldier in the 22nd Artillery Supply Company of the Polish II Corps. The bear continued to accompany the soldiers through their battles in Italy until the end of the war. Once the war was finished, it was unclear where the bear would go. The soldiers didn’t want to send Wojtek back to Poland, fearing he would become a communist symbol for the new soviet-established communist Polish government. The war veteran spent the rest of his days in Scotland, and was sometimes visited by his former comrades. Wojtek passed away in Scotland in 1963. Many statues of Wojtek have been erected across the UK and Poland.
The story of Wojtek is a wholesome one. He brought the soldiers' company and was a ray of light in a dark time. With their families left behind, Wojtek was like a child, and filled a void left by the war. While Wojtek may be no more, his great story of service to the Polish army lives on.
Watch the documentary on Wojtek's story, Wojtek: The Bear That Went to War
References
History, Weird, director. The Story of Wojtek | The Polish Military Bear. YouTube, Weird History, 29 Apr. 2020, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlp5K5T91jo. Accessed 29 June 2022.
Vennard, Martin. “Story of Poland's 'Soldier Bear' Wojtek Turned into Film.” BBC News, BBC, 16 Nov. 2011, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-15736812.
Waxman, Olivia B. “Wojtek the Bear: Surprising World War II Animal Hero.” Time, Time, 8 Apr. 2017, https://time.com/4731787/wojtek-the-bear-history/.
“Wojtek (Bear).” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 25 June 2022, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wojtek_(bear).
Image Sources
By Imperial War Museum - POLISH FORCES DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=11562927
By Unknown author - Imperial War Museum id: HU 16544, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=25241543
By Unknown author - Imperial War Museum id: HU 16547, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=25241563
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