WOJTEK

The unbearable soldier

CONTEXT:
WW2
1st September 1939: Germany invaded
Poland
17th Semtember 1939: The Soviet Union
invaded Poland
1941: Germnay invaded the Soviet Union
CONTEXT
WW2
30th July 1941: The Soviets granted
« amnesty » to many Polis citizens
imprisoned
1941: A HAPPY
WARRIOR
His mother have been shot by
hunters, so the cub was left alone
in a desert

Polish soldier passing through

IRAN picked up a new member to
their group.

He eventually joined what would

become the 22nd Artillery Supply
Company.

4
INTERESTING
HABITS
He loved smoking(or eating)
cigarettes, drinking coffee in the
morning.

Wojtek was subsequently given

fruit, marmalade, honey and
syrup, and was often rewarded
with beer, which became his
favorite drink

5
LEARNING TO PLAY
FAIR
.
He also learned wrestling and could
be seen wrestling skillfully with the
soldiers. He would pretend to bite
them and roll the soldiers on the floor
for fun.

He got a kick out of wrestling with the

other soldiers.

6
NO ANIMALS
ALLOWED
In 1942, the Corps linked up with the
British 8th Army. The British High
Command did not allow any animals
in the camp.

7
THROUGH THE
WARZONE
The Polish Army formally enlisted
Wojtek the Bear into their ranks. He
was given the rank of Private. From
that point on, he was included in all
official unit rosters.

Wojtek get onto a British transport

ship when the unit sailed with the
rest of the Polish II Corps from Egypt
to fight alongside the British 8th Army
in the Italian campaign (December
1943),

8
CORPORAL
WOJTEK
As an enlisted solder of the
company, with his own paybook,
rank and serial number
EVENING
CAMPFIRE
Wojtek spent evenings sitting around the
campfire with the men and sleeping in
tents with the rest of the soldiers.
A BOOST OF
MORALE
SUBTITLE GOES HERE
ON THE
MARCH
When the unit marched out on a
mission, Wojtek would march along
side them

12
A HELPING
PAW
He hand-carried boxes of ammunition
from supply trucks to artillery
positions. Some weighted over 100
pounds.
18TH MAY 1944
MONTE CASSINO
The ultimate objective was to break
through the Winter Line and
facilitate an advance towards Rome.
CHILLING BY
THE BEACH
After the battle of Monte Cassino
Wojtek played in the sea. Wojtek
loved water
THE OFFICIAL BADGE OF THE 22ND
TRANSPORT COMPANY BECAME A
LIKENESS OF WOJTEK HOLDING A
SHELL.
The badge of the 22nd Artillery Support Company
of the 2nd Polish Corps. The unit made a design of
Wojtek the bear after his work in such a role in the
campaigns in the Middle East and Italy
DEEP
APPRECIATION
Once his unit was demobilized in Scotland,
the bear was resettled at the Edinburgh
Zoo. He was frequently visited by his old
friends from the Polish Army.
PASSING
AWAY
The hero bear passed away in 1963 at
the age of 22. Edinburg still has a
memorial to the brave brown bear.

18
A FELLOW
SOLDIER
“It was very pleasant for me to think about
him. I felt like he was my older brother”
Wojciech Narebski, a Polish soldier
WOJTEK JOURNEY MAP BY AILEEN ORR, 2012