Wojtek The Soldier Bear | |
|---|---|
&sq=Qlik&lang=&file=File:Wojtek_the_bear.jpg) Polish soldier with Wojtek in 1942 | |
| Born | 1942 Hamedan, Iran |
| Died | 2 December 1963 (aged 21) Edinburgh Zoo, Scotland |
| Allegiance | Poland |
| Service/ | &sq=Qlik&lang=&file=File:Flag_of_the_Polish_Land_Forces.svg){kind=small} Polish Land Forces |
| Years of service | 1943–1945 |
| Unit | 3522, 22nd Artillery Supply Company, II Corps (Poland) |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
| Memorials | Wojtek Memorial Trust |
| Website | thesoldierbear |
Wojtek (1942 – 2 December 1963; Polish pronunciation: [ˈvɔjtɛk]; in English, sometimes phonetically spelled Voytek) was a Syrian brown bear[1][2] (Ursus arctos syriacus) adopted by soldiers of the Polish II Corps during World War II. As a young cub, his mother was shot by hunters, and he was found in the mountains of Iran by a young boy. The boy then sold him to a group of Polish soldiers who were in the country after being evacuated from the Soviet Union. In order to provide for his rations and transportation, he was eventually enlisted officially as a soldier with the rank of private, and was subsequently promoted to corporal.[3]
He accompanied the bulk of the II Corps to Italy, serving with the 22nd Artillery Supply Company. During the Battle of Monte Cassino in 1944, Wojtek helped move crates of ammunition and became a celebrity with visiting Allied generals and statesmen. After the war he was mustered out of the Polish Army and lived out the rest of his life at the Edinburgh Zoo in Scotland.
- ^ Martin Williams (2017). From Warsaw to Rome: General Anders' Exiled Polish Army in the Second World War. Pen & Sword Military. ISBN 978-1-47389-488-4.
One of the most popular recollections of the Polish Army in the East is that of Wojtek, the Syrian Brown Bear who became the mascot of 22 General Transport Company.
- ^ Mansolas, Angelos (2017). Monte Cassino January-May 1944: The Legend of the Green Devils. Fonthill Media. ISBN 978-1-78155-602-3.
The most unusual soldier of the Battle of Monte Cassino, or any other battle for that matter, was a bear named 'Wojtek'. He was a Syrian brown bear found in Hamedan, Iran in April 1942 by the troops of the newly formed Polish II Corps during their long journey out of the Siberian labour camps through Middle East en route to Egypt.
- ^ "Pomnik legendarnego niedźwiedzia Wojtka stanął w Krakowie" [Statue of the legendary bear Wojtek unveiled in Krakow]. Telewizja Polska (in Polish). 19 May 2014. Retrieved 24 December 2015.