The Bear Who Joined the Polish Army in WW2 (What Really Happened)

In 1942, Polish soldiers escaping the Soviet Union bought a bear cub in Iran. He grew up drinking beer, eating cigarettes and wrestling his friends, sailed to Italy with the Polish II Corps, and became the emblem of his company at Monte Cassino. This is the true story of Wojtek, the soldier bear, and what is legend and what is record. 00:00 The legend of Monte Cassino 00:49 The boy with the sack 02:39 Raised by soldiers 03:43 Across the desert 04:26 The paperwork problem 05:00 Monte Cassino 06:26 A war won, a home lost 07:26 The visitors 07:59 Legend and record Main sources: • British Library, "Wojtek, the soldier bear from the Polish Army" • Hoover Institution Library & Archives, on Wojtek and Monte Cassino • Imperial War Museums, War Memorials Register: Wojtek memorials • Aileen Orr, "Wojtek the Bear: Polish War Hero" (2010) Images and footage via Wikimedia Commons: “Ursus arctos - Norway” by Taral Jansen/Soldatnytt, CC BY 2.0; “Brown Bear Cub (6922597018)” by Steve Hillebrand/USFWS, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Ser, CC BY 2.0; “Entrance to Edinburgh Zoo - geograph.org.uk - 1298030” by Mike Pennington, CC BY-SA 2.0; “The approach to Hutton from the South - geograph.org.uk - 276881” by Walter Baxter, CC BY-SA 2.0; “Peter McIntyre, Bombing of Cassino Monastery and town, May 1944 (14194527636)” by Archives New Zealand from New Zealand, CC BY-SA 2.0; “Wojtek (bear) statue in Princes Street Gardens” by Taras Young, CC BY-SA 4.0; “Niedziwedz Wojtek pomnik park jordana krakow” by Skabiczewski, CC BY-SA 4.0; “Wojtek and soldier” by Murgatroyd49, CC BY 4.0. Public domain: Władysław Anders (1942); Gen. Władysław Anders dokonuje inspekcji oddziałów Armii Po…; Armia Polska w Iranie (21-170-1); Brown bear standing on rivers bank ursus middendorffi; Polish Bugler Monte Cassino; Polish II Corps (49) - 1946-06-16 - Casarano; Monte Cassino Polish soldiers; Brown bear cub head; Evacuation of Polish Civilians From the Soviet Union To Per…; Flagi polska i brytyjska na ruinach klasztoru na Monte Cass…; Wojtek meet the new friend; Polish Soldier in Iran wojtek; The Polish Army in the Middle East, 1941-1943 E15733; Wojtek Polish Bear plaque; Polish Refugees in Persia, 1942-1945 E21187; Polish Refugees in Persia, 1942-1945 E21189; Polish Refugees in Persia, 1942-1945 E21190; Wojtek, the soldier bear; Syrian Brown Bear Distribution; Polish 22 Transport Artillery Company watch as one of their…; Troops of the Polish 22 Transport Artillery Company watch a…; Wojtek at Winfield Aerodrome on Sunwick Farm, near Hutton i…; Wojtek the bear; Yalta Conference (Churchill, Roosevelt, Stalin) (B&W); Zakończenie walk o Monte Cassino - polscy i brytyjscy żołni…; Żołnierze 2 Korpusu Polskiego na pobojowisku na Monte Cassi…. Footage: Pexels (James Cheney). Music made for Animal History with vidIQ. #ww2 #history #wojtek