Wojtek: The Bear Who Fought the Nazis and Became a War Hero

I love homeschooling because I get to learn about things that interest me. I love learning about World War II. One time I was watching a Simple History video and learned one of the coolest WWII facts: a beer-drinking, card-playing bear became a World War II hero. I thought it was cool how a wild animal could learn to do human things like drink, smoke, play cards and move ammo. 

Wojtek, WWII Hero

In April 1942 in the mountains of Iran, Polish soldiers met a young Kurdish boy who had found a bear cub whose mother had been shot by hunters. The soldiers nursed the bear with a bottle of condensed milk and treated him like their own baby. They named the bear Wojtek (pronounced Voy-Tek). He was basically adopted by the 22nd Transport Company’s Artillery Division in the Polish 2nd Corps.

Baby Cub Wojtek

Wojtek didn’t stay a cub for long. He grew up to be a 500 or 600 pound bear and war hero. Wojtek saw the soldiers moving supplies and ammunition. He followed them and copied them, moving supplies and ammo himself. He was a huge morale booster to the soldiers. He was even given the rank of Private during his two years of service with the Polish forces!

Wojtek holding a beer

During his time with them, he picked up a lot of human habits. He liked to drink beer and smoke cigarettes. When he drank all his beer, he would look into the opening of the bottle to see where his beer was. He chased after oranges the soldiers would throw for grenade practice. He was made the mascot of his regiment. The soldiers even taught him to scare new recruits and make them think they were going to get eaten!

During a 1944 battle in Italy, Wojtek helped move ammunition and became a hero.

Wojtek moving ammo

After the war, he retired with the rank of corporal and went to live on a farm in Scotland with other Polish soldiers who lived there for a while. Aileen Orr, author of Wojtek the Bear: Polish War Hero, grew up hearing stories about how people at the Scottish camp would feed Wojtek honey and jam, wrestle and play football with him. He was a part of the community and they said he was like a dog, and almost human.

Statue of Wojtek in Edinburgh, Scotland

Wojtek lived in Scotland until he died in 1963 at the Edinburgh Zoo. There is a statue of him in Edinburgh honoring Wojtek now. He was a Nazi-fighting, beer-drinking, cigarette-smoking, ammo-moving war hero.