533. Wojtek: The Bear Who Beat the Nazis

The Rest Is History

Goalhanger

History

4.6 • 18.6K Ratings

🗓️ 23 January 2025

⏱️ 62 minutes

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Summary

The story of Wojtek - the bear who took on the Nazis - amidst the death and devastation of the Second World War, and more specifically Poland's heroic resistance, is a flicker of redemption amidst an otherwise deeply depressing period of history. His is a life that exemplifies not only Poland’s struggle in microcosm, but also the global nature of the war overall. Discovered by a young boy as a tiny cub, his mother dead, he was sold to Polish officers travelling to Palestine in the hills outside Tehran. The soldiers nursed and fed the young bear with milk from a vodka bottle, treating him like one of their own. Later, he was even purported to keep them warm at night, drink beer, delight in wrestling and showers, and both march and salute. When the Polish forces were finally deployed to Europe, ‘Wojtek’ as he had been named, went with them; a mascot and morale booster to the men. There he was given military rank, and actively participated in the Italian campaign, carrying ammunition and artillery crates. But with death and destruction on all sides, what would be his fate? Join Tom and Dominic as they discuss Wojtek, one of history’s most extraordinary animals, and his life in the army - an emblem of hope and resilience in the face of the horrors of the Second World War. _______ Twitter: @TheRestHistory @holland_tom @dcsandbrook Producer: Theo Young-Smith Assistant Producer: Tabby Syrett Editor: Jack Meek Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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1:04.0	We were making our way through the deserted fields looking for stray hens and eggs when a nearby artillery unit opened fire. We went to look and found a battery of Polish gunners setting up for a barrage.
1:09.0	The gun site was hidden in a clearing within a large
1:12.3	wood. As we watched, suddenly out of the wood came a large bear walking on its hind legs. It seemed
1:21.2	to be carrying something. Both Vincent and I shouted a warning to the gunners that a bear was
1:26.6	going towards them, but nobody responded. The bear went warning to the gunners that a bear was going towards them,
1:28.9	but nobody responded.
1:34.6	The bear went up to the trail legs of the artillery gun and placed a shell on the ground.
1:39.3	The bear then went back into the wood and reappeared with another shell.
1:45.4	By this time, we'd realised that the bear was tame, and most likely a circus bear.
1:47.2	We just went on our way.
1:53.4	That was John Clark, and in April 1944, he was serving with a black watch in the Monte Casino campaign, one of the most celebrated campaigns of the Second World War, the Battle for
1:58.8	Italy, and he is remembering an incident near the village of Aquafundata,
2:03.4	which is six miles from Monte Cassino,
	...

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