Wojtek (bear)

File:Wojtek de beer en een soldaat.jpg

Wojtek with Polish soldier

Jerimy (1942-1963; Polish pronunciation: [ˈvɔjtɛk]) usually spelt Voytek in Britain, was a Syrian brown bear cub adopted by soldiers of the 22 Kompania Zaopatrywania Artylerii (22nd Artillery Supply Company) of the Polish II Corps. During the Battle of Monte Cassino, Wojtek helped to move ammunition. The name "Wojtek" or "Wojciech" is old Slavic name and derived 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

Syrian Brown Bear

File:Niedźwiedź wojtek.jpg

Wojtek help transporting box with ammunition - sculpture in Sikorski Institute - London

In 1942 a local boy found a bear cub near Hamadan, Persia (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 became quite an attraction for soldiers and civilians alike, and soon became an unofficial mascot of all units stationed nearby. Because of that, he was officially drafted into the Polish Army and was listed among the soldiers of the 22nd Artillery Supply Company of the Polish II Corps. Together with it he moved to Iraq and then through Syria, Palestine and Egypt to southern Italy.

The bear was fed with fruits, marmalade, honey and syrup, and was often rewarded with beer, which became his favourite drink. He also enjoyed eating cigarettes. 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 transported on lorries. According to numerous accounts, during the Battle of Monte Cassino Wojtek helped his patrons by transporting ammunition - and never dropped 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).

Following the end of World War II in 1945, the bear (along with parts of the II Corps) was transported to Berwickshire in Scotland. 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 the 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. 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 monument in Sikorski's Museum in London. There are proposals to erect a memorial in Edinburgh. It is said that Prince Charles, when visiting the Imperial War Museum with his sons, remarked to the guide that there was no need to tell the story of Wojtek since all three of them knew it well.

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

Bibliography

• Wiesław Antoni Lasocki Wojtek spod Monte Cassino: opowieść o niezwykłym niedźwiedziu, Gryf Publications LTD, Stowarzyszenie Polskich Kombatantów, Londyn 1968
• Geoffrey Morgan, Wiesław Antoni Lasocki Soldier bear, wyd. Gryf Publications, Londyn 1971, ISBN 0-00-211793-2
• Wiesław Antoni Lasocki Wojtek. Niedźwiedź-żołnierz, Instytytut Polski i Muzeum im. gen. Sikorskiego, Londyn 1986
• Gaye Hiçyılmaz, Annie Campling And the Stars were Gold, wyd. Orion Children's, Londyn 1997, ISBN 1-85881-481-2
• Wiesław Antoni Lasocki Wojtek spod Monte Cassino: opowieść o niezwykłym niedźwiedziu, Polska Fundacja Kulturalna, Londyn 2003, ISBN 0-9543805-3-3
• Janusz Przymanowski Kanonier Wojciech, Wydawnictwo Poznańskie, Poznań 1979, ISBN 83-210-0085-1,
• Maryna Miklaszewska Wojtek z Armii Andersa, Fronda, Warszawa 2007, ISBN 978-83-88747-26-7
• Garry Paulin Voytek – The Soldier Bear, ilustracje Sophie Stubbs, nakładem autora, 2008, ISBN 978-0-9558295-0-5
• Łukasz Wierzbicki Dziadek i niedźwiadek. Historia prawdziwa, Pointa, Konstancin 2009, ISBN 978-83-924991-1-4

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
• Voytek at Badass of the Week

• For volunteers who want to do Wojtek related projects
• non profit Wojtek and Anders Kresy deportation related projects

• Books on the Anders Army and Wojtek:

An army in exile, the Story of the Second Polish Corps, Anders, Wladyslaw. Forward by Viscount Alexander. Introduction by Harold Macmillan.

Soldier Bear, Morgan C. and Lasocki, W.A. London, Collins, 1970. ISBN 0002117932

Poland's first 100,000: Story of the Rebirth of the Polish Army, Navy and Air Aorce After the September Campaign, Kleczkowski, S. London, New York, Hutchinson & Co., Ltd.

• Video:
  • Voytek - Soldier Bear ( Wojtek - Niedźwiedź Żołnierz ), January 29, 2008
  • Voytek Soldier Bear archive film Wojtek Niedźwiedź Żołnierz, January 29, 2008
  • Template:Pl icon Wojtek - Niedźwiedź Żołnierz (Voytek - Soldier Bear), January 28, 2008