Gdansk Group Trip – Day 4 (Wojtek the Bear)

This statue is in memory of Wojtek the Bear, who during the Second World War was adopted by the Polish army at the age of three months old as his mother had been shot by hunters. He thought that he was a soldier, so he stood guard, saluted, help transport loads and he’d ride next to the driver in the army truck. He was promoted to become a corporal in the military and was transferred to Edinburgh Zoo after the Second World War. He lived there until December 1963 and there’s another memorial to him there.

A little video about the bear, which noted that he picked up some habits from the troops including smoking (and eating) cigarettes, drinking beer from a bottle and getting involved in wrestling matches. Goodness knows what other troops thought when they saw this bear marching along with the Polish troops.

Our little group liked reading about the bear.