I just love the story about Wojtek.😍 He is/was so cool und cute at the same time. RIP to one of the bravest bears ever: 🫡 Dzięki za oglądanie. Możesz również sprawdzić mój nowy Instagram: instagram.com/chrisb.yt Daj mi znać, co myślisz o tym filmie! 😊 Thanks for watching. You can also check out my new Instagram: instagram.com/chrisb.yt Let me know what you think about that video! 😊
22 Atilery Transport Company, where Wojtek was serv, like all 2 Corps, was gathered in Egipt before they were sent to Italy for the fight. At first 2 Corp was organized in Russia, but during an argument with the Polish Government-in-exile, the soldiers had to be evacuated, by Syria, and Palestine they joined with Allied soldiers in Egipt (the movie has made a mistake). The documents in the video aren't passports, but military legitimation.
Hallo Chris, wenn du gutes Filmmaterial machen willst, solltest du es dir ansehen. Es zeigt einen ernsteren Ton der Erzählung und stellt die Ereignisse während des Krieges genau dar und enthält viele Informationen, die in der animierten Geschichte Polens nicht enthalten waren. Ich empfehle es selbst, habe mir das Ganze angeschaut und viel gelernt. Ich liebe deine Arbeit auf TH-cam. Titel des Materials: Ludobójstwo. Genocide. (Eng It Fr Ger Pl subtitles)
After the War Wojtek lived for a long time at the Edinburgh Zoo, and was often visited by Polish soldiers. Wojtek knew only Polish, because he lived with Polish soldiers for many years. Every time someone came to the zoo and Wojtek heard Polish, he stood on his two legs and saluted. He was a real soldier 🙂
My lovely dad,Janek , was in the Polish Army as a sniper and he worked alongside wojtek,loading lorries with ammunition etc.After the war my dad said it was so pitiful to visit him in the zoo as he had no freedom,something he’d been used to,and was so miserable.😢
Those soldiers were recruited from Polish prisoners in the USSR. The Soviets wanted to use them as Cannon fodder against Germany, but Polish soldiers didn't trust them and instead decided to evacuate themselves from the USSR through the south and join the western Allies in Africa.
You need to stick to your propaganda story. Either the Soviets didn't care about the loss of their own soliders and use them as cannon fodder, or they used other nationalities for that. In any case it was the Soviets that liberated you from the Nazis, not your beloved Western owners.
fun fact: we had one more bear before Wojtek! There was a polar bear named „Baśka” who met Józef Piłsudski and even saluted to him. Sadly, her story didn’t ended very well because she was killed by villagers and quickly got forgotten :((( Baśka was the first Polish military bear and her amazing story definitely needs more recognition!
Cieszę się że poznajesz nasza historie jako Niemiec i zaczynasz nas w pewnym stopniu rozumiesz,bo tego czego uczyli was w szkole to półprawdy lub klamstwia na nasz temat.moze wybierzesz się kiedyś do nas,by na własne oczy to wszystko zobaczyć.zapraszamy
@@piotrkieszkowski7670 I would argue about the "as smart as" part. After all he was a pretty smart bear - no hard drug addictions, liked beer and ciggies. The other guy on the other hand... cocaine, amphetamine, testosterone, estradiol, steroids, atropine, strychnine, an extract of seminal vesicles and gun cleaner all mixed into a "tonic" was Adolf's favorite medication.
Tak prawdziwy Polak powinien wiedzieć to historię Polacy wychowali niedźwiedzia i niedzwiedz stał się bohaterem nawet postawiono mu pomnik za dzielnego żołnierza ❤
Your interest and compassion about the history of Poland is so heart warming. Thank you for showing the affection and sympathy with those who struggled through difficult times - be they Germans, Poles or anyone longing for normality and kindness. Wish you a great day!
You asked what the Polish troops were doing in North Africa. When the 5-week 1939 Polish Campaign was over several thousands of Poles fled through Romania and Hungary to France and Syria. Those in Syria fought in the Battle of Tobruk alongside the Australians and other battles alongside the British in North Africa. These were later joined by the Anders Army who were Poles released from Soviet captivity after Germany invaded the USSR. Woytek became part of the Anders Army. Polish General Anders formed the Second Polish Corps by incorporating all of the Poles in North Africa, which then participated in the Italian Campaign. The 1st Polish Corps based in England would also participate in the liberation of France, Belgium and Holland. The 1st Polish Armoured Division would actually capture the German port city of Wilhelmshaven in 1945 and occupy it until 1947. On the Eastern Front, the 1st and 2nd Polish Armies were formed in the USSR under Polish General Berling. From 1943 they fought alongside the Red Army all the way to Berlin and Dresden. By the end of the war, there were over 200,000 Polish men and women in uniform under British Command. In the East there were nearly 400,000 Poles under Soviet Command fighting in the First and Second Polish Armies.
I've heard that Wojtek was very useful during the attack on monte cassino as he could by himself lift a crate that was so heavy that it usually required at least two people to carry it
Wojtek was an enlisted as private in Polish military ;) The dog and monkey as far as I know was not the Polish military masscots. Wojtek was one of the soldiers (a brother in arms) so his comrades treated him as one of them, when they was dinking beer the bear was drinking with them ;) and noone was forcing him to do that as stated in 6:47 ;)
@chris.poland . Jest to drugi film który oglądam na twoim kanale . Z uwagi na to że Jestem Polakiem , chciałbym powiedzieć Tobie - Jest mi miło niezmiernie widząc twoje współczucie do naszej historii narodu i jak podziwiasz ją . Czuje szacunek do twojej osoby z tego powodu . Polecam też byś sprawdził frazę na temat Husarii Polskiej i jak dotarła aż pod samą Moskwę . Ponieważ jest to też dość ciekawe wydarzenie . Pozdrowienia ślę tobie z polskiego miasta Białystok
There was even a moment when there was a spy in the Polish army. While bathing with the bear, only this spy was terrified, which allowed him to be exposed, because every soldier knew that Wojtek was harmless.
U mnie jest skwer Misia Wojtka z jego spiżowym pomnikiem przy skrzynce amunicji oraz tablicami opisującymi jego drogę .Obok lodziarnia, gdzie lody i wafelki w kształcie misia
2:35 From all directions. West, East, North (East Prussia), South Slovakia and Germany from occupied Czechia. Still Poland managed to survive one month, just like France. You could react to 40:1 (Battle of Wizna) and battle of Westerplatte.
There is a video on IPNTV Chanel „Unconquered” is about history of Poland from 1939 to 1989, about fight to regain freedoms great animation on highest level. There is two versions, one with Polish voice over, second with English and Sean Bean is narrator there.
There are no scorpions in Poland but Wojtek was with the Polish army when they were in Palestine, in the Middle Est, and there are scorpions there. I always like to hear this story because It's somehow what happened to my grandfather. A prisoner of the soviets in syberia, then released, walked a long way through Iran and Iraq to join the Allies in Palestine and fought against the Nazis. Many of Polish soldiers joined other armies involved in the war against the nazis in many parts of the world. For example there was a very famous batallion in the RAF all composed of polish pilots that contributed in a significant way to the victory in the battle for England. Polish soldiers have partecipated to the war in every country involved in the conflict, so don't be surprise to see polish names among those that fought in Afrika, Norway, Britain or elsewhere. I really appreciate your videos, good job. I wish a lot of success to your channel.
Chris, do you want to talk about brave Polish soldiers of WW2 ? Start with Witold Pilecki. "W" in Polish we pronounce like "V" in English. Wojtek was a part of The Third Carpathian Rifle Division. Polish division fighting with Germans in Italy during the WW2. He was receiving soldiers' food rations and had a rank of corporal.
We fought on ALL fronts in WWII... I recommend "Bloody Foreigners. Untold Battle of Britain." on YT ;) Also - look closer at those "work camps" in the USSR, because it is one enormous horror for humans who in any way opposed the government... Even with those 2 info we barely scrached the surface of what happened and what WWII was. EDIT: I also recommend "The man who volunteered to be imprisoned in Auschwitz - BBC REEL" on YT, about Witold Pilecki.
Sorry for being very serious, but before you'll start to judge them for feeding a bear with beer, fags and wine, bare in mind a few things: 1. 80 years ago animals didn't have much rights and the perception was totally different than nowdays 2. These guys was soldiers, tough an rough guys. More than that, they was only recently released from Soviet war camps. Surely they wasn't spoiled there. Tired, thousands kilometers from home, not sure what tomorrow brings, not knowing what happened to their homes and families. They desperately needed a morale booster. My guess is, that initially they gave him beer for fun. And when he appeared to like it, they just kept doing it. 3. There was war going on. People needed something to turn their attention off all those horrible things we, thanks heaven, can't even imagine. Just not to get crazy.
It depends of particular animal. One of my cats was crazy about beer. All he had to do was smell someone drinking a beer and immediately jump on their lap and demand a drink.
Let's not forget that back then people didn't know how bad smoking is.. actually the fact that soldiers shared with Wojtek beer and cigarettes instead of having more for themselves show that they really loved him in their own way.
Alcohol also worked as a way to cope with stress. Brits used opium in that way Germans pervitin Russians cheap booze Americans meth/Coke bars
8 หลายเดือนก่อน
@@アンジェリカ-u4bMy friend's dog loved beer and sometimes they drank one together. He was a fantastic dog, he lived to the age of a dog... unfortunately, he has been no longer with us for several years.
The pact between the Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, about their collaboration in attack on Poland and generally about division of Europe between them, was signed in August 1939 and it is commonly known as the Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact (it is well known not only in Poland, but also in other countries, e.g. Finland). After the Russian invasion on Poland in September 1939, a lot of Polish were murdered in genocide acts by Russians (You should read especially about the famous "Katyn Massacre" in 1940 - our film director Andrzej Wajda, an Oscar prize winner, made even a whole movie about Katyn) and imprisoned in Russian gulags (which You can call the Soviet concentration camps). About 2 millions of Polish, deported there, couldn't leave the Soviet Union. Later, after the attack of Germany on Russia in 1941, Stalin changed sides and joined the allies. So under also the influence of the UK, Poland and the Soviets signed in 1941 an agreement, so-called Sikorski-Mayski agreement, thanks to which hundreds of thousands of Polish could leave Russia. And with these people also the new Polish army - called Polish Armed Forces in the East (also called the "Anders' Army", after the name if its general - the soldiers of this army "adopted" Wojtek The Bear), was created. This army left the Soviet Union and went first through Iran to Palestine (which was under British control then). Later they joined so-called Polish Armed Forces in the West and fought in many fronts of the war, in many countries, also in Italian Campaign. And the battle of Monte Cassino in 1944 (the whole battle lasted over four months) was one of the most important battles of the II WW, and the Polish soldiers (under command of general Władysław Anders) and their attack played an really important role in this battle. Generally, Polish soldiers fought in all the fronts of the II WW and took significant part in many of the important campaigns and battles - like the battles of Arnhem, of Falaise, in Normandy, battle of England (famous Squadron 303 of Pilots), above mentioned battle of Monte Cassino and many others. One should read also (all information are available in English, also in Wikipedia) about the most famous Polish generals in these battles, for instance general Stanisław Maczek (a honorary citizen of the Netherlands, due to his role to free this country) and his "Black Devils", general Stanisław Sosabowski (in the Hollywood movie "A bridge too far" he was played by Dustin Hoffman), general Władysław Sikorski (who was killed later, in 1943 in still unexplained plane crash in Gibraltar), or above mentioned general Władysław Anders. And these are just some basic facts about Polish in the II WW.
Thank you for this. My grandfather and his family were some of those taken by the Soviets and my neighbour here in the UK also. In this video when they said around 400 thousand were taken it hurt because from my reading of the history it was in the millions and many of them k*lled or di*d before they reached the g*lags (forgive the * sometimes YT is sensitive to what is written). My neighbour was 8 and told me about what she remembered - being given an hour to collect belongings, the soldiers returning and k*lling many that were elderly or disabled/sick. My grandfather was 19 at the beginning of the war and survived the journey to and conditions in the g*lags and was released to join the Polish army. He joined the first Polish independent parachute brigade and went on to be a paramedic during the battle of Arnhem. I'm so proud of all of them. Peace to all.
@@lollylula6399 Wow, it's so great that You remember abd cherish the memory of Your grandpa and what he and Poles like him had to go through. It was all like You write, indeed. And people like Your granpa should be remembered, for sure. And have You been in Poland? If not, You definitely should visit our country.
By the way, if you want to learn more about Polish history I truly recomend watching below film made by Polish Institute of National Remembrance th-cam.com/video/Q88AkN1hNYM/w-d-xo.html and one more summarizing whole of our history from the beginning to 2012 ( joining the EU) th-cam.com/video/7SpddNW7a3k/w-d-xo.html
If you are interested in the Polish perspective, there is a great animation called Unconcered ^^ I highly recommend it. Greetings from Wrocław, neighbor!
Unrug ist ein Held. Ein Deutscher der polnischer Admiral wurde und nach seiner Verhaftung einen polnischen Dolmetscher verlangte da er angeblich 1939 seine Muttersprache Deutsch vergessen hat. Es ist schwer über ihn hier etwas auf englisch bzw deutsch zu finden. th-cam.com/users/shortsnKs0SIbX30A Hier die Möglichkeit den Inhalt automatisch übersetzen lassen. th-cam.com/video/mwxY3mXRJ08/w-d-xo.html Sehr locker und humorvoll erzählt. Typisch für diesen Channel.
On nie zapomniał języka niemieckiego, on po prostu nie chciał mówić tym językiem. Na przesłuchaniu przez niemców, kazał wzywać tłumacza. Polecam książkę Admirał.
@@arturboryczka9976 , Dokładnie tak. W języku anty dyplomatycznym zapomniał języka drutu kolczastego. Tylko proszę mnie nie poprawiać, że to niemiecki, a nie kolczasty. ;-)
From the history I read about bear Wojtek most imortant fact were: - he was rescued as a cub by soldiers an appeared well mannered. - he took a great care from his new "parents" causing him very friendly - he was so confident with people to be treated as one of the soldiers - full trust (beer, cigarettes) - Wojtek behaved like a human understanding wrestling as a sport - he bacame a real war hero delivering heavy boxes of ammunition during bloody machine gun battles. PS. My real first name is Wojtek which is Polish regional name of bird stork. That's all folks, even sad parts of history have their own beautiful pieces.
When it comes to war stories, I'd recommend you a story of a Polish warship ORP Piorun. It's absolutely crazy and perfectly shows Polish fighting spirit. There is an extremely goofy but also super funny yt video by LazerPig on this topic. It involves the Bismarck so it may be twice as interesting for you as a German.
Bear as pet is not a bad thing. Because bears and DOGS have very similiar software. if you remove hibernation plugin then bear is just dog with bigger model.
Somewhere on the Internet I saw an interview with a German soldier who took part in the Battle of Mone Casino and remembered Wojtek. He said that he himself and the other the German soldiers saw a bear carrying charges against them and could have shot it, but... it seemed inhumane to them to shoot at a bear on the battlefield. This is ironic considering that they shot at people and that thousands of soldiers died in this battle
We could not have had soldiers at Polish territory during the ww II, because our country was occupied. So no Polish government, authority etc. did officially work. Everything was underground, illegal (on occupants' point of view). We had army abroad. They just joined the allies. In the movie it was said that eg. once they were in Syria, once in Palestine. So maybe the scorpion was there. For sure not in Poland.
Still, despite occupation, even in the country the Polish underground state and structures, resistance movement, Home Army structures etc. were well developed and active, opposing all the time to the occupation.
Dogs were not used to sniff out the mines. Soviets put explosives on dogs and tought them to crawl under a tanks to destroy them. Funny thing though, they did not think that German tanks sound different than Russian, so most of the dogs destroyed their own tanks.
Poland was attacked, so the Polish fights did not take place only in Poland. Polish soldiers who were sent to Siberia and were prisoners there were later formed an army by General Anders. They followed the battle trail from Siberia through Iran, Palestine, North Africa and Italy. They also fought in France, Polish pilots defended the skies of Great Britain (watch the Battle of Britain). Poles fought all over the continent. Wojtek got a military ID because the British ship was prohibited from transporting animals. Soldiers could be transported. That's why he was put on a soldier's seat, so as to bypass the regulation and not leave the bear alone.
To answer your earlier question. Battalions and armies were created from soldiers held in inhumane conditions deep in Russia. Some of them created the Polish People's Army under the supervision of the USSR, and some of them got to the Middle East and formed an army under the command of General Anders (which included Wojtek). Additionally, Polish army in Great Britain and the Home Army (AK) fighting as a partisan in Poland occupied entirely by Germans and Russians. Fucked up, isn't it? But those were the times. We lasted longer than France, which was a military power and had the support of Great Britain. At the beginning of the war, we penetrated almost 200 km into the Third Reich. We fought the NKVD back in the 1950-60s... but today it doesn't matter. As we have been warning Europe for two centuries... we cannot cooperate with Russia on normal terms. Today you are starting to see it.
Chris, i like this video, story of Wojtek, btw, I am Wojtek, that's my name. Full name is Wojciech, Czech name, means "Happiness in a battle" Greetings from Poland Chris 😁
The thing about Wojtek liking to drink was that on one occasion he made a mess, while being a derpy bear, as officer stated, "under the influence", becouse no way in hell couple of beers could make a bear drunk. So they decided to punish him and his caretakers by standing at attention in the middle of the night, while fully equipped in combat gear (so guns, ammo, backpacks etc.). Even Wojtek. Just imagine - 2 guys and a bear, in combat gear, just standing there.
@Chris discovers Poland 10:57 No there are no scorpions at Poland. Polish soldiers were fighting at the lot of 2nd WW battlefrons with the invaders. As you've heard in that video it was Sirian bear adopted by Poles ;) 11:08 This is military booklet (sth like ID for everyone that is qualified as soldier in Poland) that document confirms that Wojtek is formally Polish soldier (at the document there is written he is a part of Polish Eastern Army) :D
As to stereotype of Poles drinking much m, it’s postwar communist era stereotype and actually a truth for that period. But these were prewar Polish guys so the stereotype did not exist then.
Somewhere on the Internet I watched an interview with a German soldier who took part in the Battle of Mone Casino and remembered Wojtek. He said that he himself and other the German soldiers saw a bear carrying charges against them and could have shot it, but... it seemed inhumane to them to shoot at a bear on the battlefield. This is ironic considering that they shot at people and that thousands of soldiers died in this battle...
During world war one there was another bear whose name was Baśka and she was a polar bear. She belonged to the soldiers sent as contingent to Kamczatka as support for the Rosjan army.
11.26 to książeczka wojskowa miał stopień kaprala. W wojnie Polski z Rosją był niedźwiedź polarny, brał udział w wojnie 1920 r. i był odznaczony orderem
Wojtek's guardian had it the worst, I think that both of them had to go through this very hard because after taking him to the zoo he never saw him again, he was afraid that the memories would come back and Wojtek and he would go through this
Great video and reaction, but too bad you didn't watch: Miśon impossible - Miś Wojtek. Historia Bez Cenzury, on the channel: Historia bez cenzury, with the option enabled to translate subtitles automatically. In my opinion, the Polish version of the same story was much sadder 😭
Yes, we have scorpions in Poland :)) I am from this sign myself. Moreover, the II Corps of the Polish army in the West was stationed in the Middle East before joining the fight during the Italian campaign. He fought against the Germans at Monte Cassino and captured Bologna. And Palestine because they evacuated from the Soviet Union through Iran, Syria and Palestine.
Yea in WW2 Poles Fought in Poland, Norway, erly and late France, Holand, Belgium, North Africa (Tobrook), Russia, Latvia, Belarus, Ukraine, Itally, Berline, Britain, and many more places
All is true. Wojtek was one of the boys. Sadly, after the war they didn't allow them to keep him. Edit.: some of your videos show why Germans had a very hard time fighting Polish. You don't look for wholes in Polish logic, because if you do - you're done.
I don't understand Wojtek's taste in cigarettes either, but as for the alcohol - well, it's not particularly shocking. Wild herbivores and omnivores almost universally enjoy long-fallen fermented fruits in late autumn, with full intent and premedition, to get drunk. Bears, boars, corvids, deer and moose - these are just few examples from our biome - and the first one from other ones that comes to mind is elephants. Drunk bears are very chill, but elephants are a total menace. So, in no way his taste in beer was unnatural.
We were fighting everywhere in II WW. England, Africa, Palestine, where they needed troops. We had an alliance with UK, France, and USA, but as it appeared, one-sided.
You are looking at the story from the nawdays point od view (according to beer). Look at this form the piont of view of ordinary soldier who live among friends. And Wojtak was one of them.
Two things I never do 😂 (oh wait...I think I drunk beer once, but it was Irish beer so that doesnt count 😉) (And yes I am a German that has never drunk german beer in his life😂)
@@chris.poland Wait what? German who doesn't drink beer? You should be presented in museum or something 🤣 However you look very young and it looks like young generation (called "gen z") drink much less alcohol than older generations. Maybe it's some king of trend that grew naturally...
Hi Chris, I am a Polish born dude, fully fluent i German, so ask me anything on Wojtek. I thought this is a Polish story, totally bullshit.......but I would have raised this bear cub myself I inherited a lot of this Polish spirit capable tompull that off...... Wojtek is diminutive for Wojciech....cieszyć is the verb for being happy or enjoy something My father's cousin in Scotland knew Wojtek as a kid in a Scottish zoo. Her father's unit liberated Netherlands and never returned to Poland avoiding a possible lethal fate AK resistance warriors in Poland often met.
The story of breaking the Enigma by Polish mathematicians is also interesting, and the English were unable to even assemble this decoder with all the instructions. I translated via Google ciekawa jest też historia złamania enigmy przez polskich matematyków a Anglicy nie potrfaili nawet złożyć tego dekodera z całymi instrukacjami
Watch "Historia bez cenzury" about Bear Wojtek. That have more information, about life with soldiers, and sad moment for him in zoo, and why he don't back to Poland
10:04 it was ww2, poles were fighting all over the world. they were in middle east when it happened. 10:46 because Poland was not on the map at this time and these soldiers escaped soviet union through middle east 11:05 that's his military ID 11:13 he was a corporal at the end of the war
what is wrong with us? We are compleately fine! Some other, cruel nations would drink and let bear just stare but we share all goodies with fellow soldiers.
I just love the story about Wojtek.😍 He is/was so cool und cute at the same time. RIP to one of the bravest bears ever: 🫡
Dzięki za oglądanie. Możesz również sprawdzić mój nowy Instagram: instagram.com/chrisb.yt Daj mi znać, co myślisz o tym filmie! 😊
Thanks for watching. You can also check out my new Instagram: instagram.com/chrisb.yt Let me know what you think about that video! 😊
22 Atilery Transport Company, where Wojtek was serv, like all 2 Corps, was gathered in Egipt before they were sent to Italy for the fight.
At first 2 Corp was organized in Russia, but during an argument with the Polish Government-in-exile, the soldiers had to be evacuated, by Syria, and Palestine they joined with Allied soldiers in Egipt (the movie has made a mistake).
The documents in the video aren't passports, but military legitimation.
@@geralt1234c hehe Polacy piszą do siebie po angielsku korzystając z translatora...
Hallo Chris, wenn du gutes Filmmaterial machen willst, solltest du es dir ansehen. Es zeigt einen ernsteren Ton der Erzählung und stellt die Ereignisse während des Krieges genau dar und enthält viele Informationen, die in der animierten Geschichte Polens nicht enthalten waren. Ich empfehle es selbst, habe mir das Ganze angeschaut und viel gelernt. Ich liebe deine Arbeit auf TH-cam.
Titel des Materials: Ludobójstwo. Genocide. (Eng It Fr Ger Pl subtitles)
@@jn1205he he
Kapral Wojtek, Kasztanka to nasłynniejsze zwierzęta
After the War Wojtek lived for a long time at the Edinburgh Zoo, and was often visited by Polish soldiers. Wojtek knew only Polish, because he lived with Polish soldiers for many years. Every time someone came to the zoo and Wojtek heard Polish, he stood on his two legs and saluted. He was a real soldier 🙂
That is so fucking cool 😍
Where did you get the idea that Wojtek saluted when Poles came to his zoo? This is the first time I've heard something like this.
@@rafalszczepanski98 Nauczycielka nam opowiadała wiele lat temu w szkole i było o tym napisane w książce do historii ale już nie pamiętam do której
O salutowaniu nie ma mowy ale prawdą jest , że reagował na polski język .@@anuskas9244
My lovely dad,Janek , was in the Polish Army as a sniper and he worked alongside wojtek,loading lorries with ammunition etc.After the war my dad said it was so pitiful to visit him in the zoo as he had no freedom,something he’d been used to,and was so miserable.😢
Those soldiers were recruited from Polish prisoners in the USSR. The Soviets wanted to use them as Cannon fodder against Germany, but Polish soldiers didn't trust them and instead decided to evacuate themselves from the USSR through the south and join the western Allies in Africa.
Ah now I get it😄
Those who remained in the USSR became part of the First and Second Armies which fought alongside the Red Army all the way to Berlin.
You need to stick to your propaganda story. Either the Soviets didn't care about the loss of their own soliders and use them as cannon fodder, or they used other nationalities for that.
In any case it was the Soviets that liberated you from the Nazis, not your beloved Western owners.
@@ronaldostrowski4014thouse who remainded were trators of Poland
Not prisoners but Polish soldiers with were in prison
fun fact: we had one more bear before Wojtek! There was a polar bear named „Baśka” who met Józef Piłsudski and even saluted to him. Sadly, her story didn’t ended very well because she was killed by villagers and quickly got forgotten :(((
Baśka was the first Polish military bear and her amazing story definitely needs more recognition!
I agree. I visited Modlin Fortress this summer and this is the place where she lived.
Kapral Wojciech na zawsze w naszych sersach❤
He hadn’t the lowest rank. He left the military with corporal rank. They told it in the next sentence after information about private
Wojtek had the same rank as Adolf H and was as qualified to run a County as a toothbrush moustache maniac.
Cieszę się że poznajesz nasza historie jako Niemiec i zaczynasz nas w pewnym stopniu rozumiesz,bo tego czego uczyli was w szkole to półprawdy lub klamstwia na nasz temat.moze wybierzesz się kiedyś do nas,by na własne oczy to wszystko zobaczyć.zapraszamy
@@piotrkieszkowski7670 I would argue about the "as smart as" part. After all he was a pretty smart bear - no hard drug addictions, liked beer and ciggies.
The other guy on the other hand... cocaine, amphetamine, testosterone, estradiol, steroids, atropine, strychnine, an extract of seminal vesicles and gun cleaner all mixed into a "tonic" was Adolf's favorite medication.
Tak prawdziwy Polak powinien wiedzieć to historię Polacy wychowali niedźwiedzia i niedzwiedz stał się bohaterem nawet postawiono mu pomnik za dzielnego żołnierza ❤
Your interest and compassion about the history of Poland is so heart warming. Thank you for showing the affection and sympathy with those who struggled through difficult times - be they Germans, Poles or anyone longing for normality and kindness. Wish you a great day!
You asked what the Polish troops were doing in North Africa. When the 5-week 1939 Polish Campaign was over several thousands of Poles fled through Romania and Hungary to France and Syria. Those in Syria fought in the Battle of Tobruk alongside the Australians and other battles alongside the British in North Africa. These were later joined by the Anders Army who were Poles released from Soviet captivity after Germany invaded the USSR. Woytek became part of the Anders Army. Polish General Anders formed the Second Polish Corps by incorporating all of the Poles in North Africa, which then participated in the Italian Campaign.
The 1st Polish Corps based in England would also participate in the liberation of France, Belgium and Holland. The 1st Polish Armoured Division would actually capture the German port city of Wilhelmshaven in 1945 and occupy it until 1947. On the Eastern Front, the 1st and 2nd Polish Armies were formed in the USSR under Polish General Berling. From 1943 they fought alongside the Red Army all the way to Berlin and Dresden.
By the end of the war, there were over 200,000 Polish men and women in uniform under British Command. In the East there were nearly 400,000 Poles under Soviet Command fighting in the First and Second Polish Armies.
I've heard that Wojtek was very useful during the attack on monte cassino as he could by himself lift a crate that was so heavy that it usually required at least two people to carry it
My grandgrandfather fought for Monte Cassino and knew Wojtek's patron. In memory of my ancesor Edward Bereda. Service no. 1905/130/III. Cheers!
Mój prapradziadek również walczył pod monte casino. Uciekł z armii niemieckiej, bo go zmusili, chciał być w armii polskiej więc uciekł.
Wojtek was an enlisted as private in Polish military ;)
The dog and monkey as far as I know was not the Polish military masscots.
Wojtek was one of the soldiers (a brother in arms) so his comrades treated him as one of them, when they was dinking beer the bear was drinking with them ;) and noone was forcing him to do that as stated in 6:47 ;)
Wojtek finished his service not as a private. When he was demobilized, he had the rank of corporal.
@@d.d.3249. Exactly. @11:22 His soldier documents stated that he is corporal (Stopień: kpr.).
@chris.poland . Jest to drugi film który oglądam na twoim kanale . Z uwagi na to że Jestem Polakiem , chciałbym powiedzieć Tobie - Jest mi miło niezmiernie widząc twoje współczucie do naszej historii narodu i jak podziwiasz ją . Czuje szacunek do twojej osoby z tego powodu . Polecam też byś sprawdził frazę na temat Husarii Polskiej i jak dotarła aż pod samą Moskwę . Ponieważ jest to też dość ciekawe wydarzenie . Pozdrowienia ślę tobie z polskiego miasta Białystok
Jak miło zobaczyć rodzinne miasto w komentarzach ❤
I love Your heart.thank You for showing that we can love each other.all the best to You!
There was even a moment when there was a spy in the Polish army. While bathing with the bear, only this spy was terrified, which allowed him to be exposed, because every soldier knew that Wojtek was harmless.
In the Polish army, there was also a female bear before. It has a sad history.
U mnie jest skwer Misia Wojtka z jego spiżowym pomnikiem przy skrzynce amunicji oraz tablicami opisującymi jego drogę .Obok lodziarnia, gdzie lody i wafelki w kształcie misia
a gdzie mieszkasz
W Sopocie też ma swój pomnik.
Włochy -Imola ma swój pomnik tamtędy przechodzili z Wojtkiem
2:35 From all directions. West, East, North (East Prussia), South Slovakia and Germany from occupied Czechia. Still Poland managed to survive one month, just like France. You could react to 40:1 (Battle of Wizna) and battle of Westerplatte.
There is a video on IPNTV Chanel „Unconquered” is about history of Poland from 1939 to 1989, about fight to regain freedoms great animation on highest level.
There is two versions, one with Polish voice over, second with English and Sean Bean is narrator there.
There are no scorpions in Poland but Wojtek was with the Polish army when they were in Palestine, in the Middle Est, and there are scorpions there. I always like to hear this story because It's somehow what happened to my grandfather. A prisoner of the soviets in syberia, then released, walked a long way through Iran and Iraq to join the Allies in Palestine and fought against the Nazis. Many of Polish soldiers joined other armies involved in the war against the nazis in many parts of the world. For example there was a very famous batallion in the RAF all composed of polish pilots that contributed in a significant way to the victory in the battle for England. Polish soldiers have partecipated to the war in every country involved in the conflict, so don't be surprise to see polish names among those that fought in Afrika, Norway, Britain or elsewhere. I really appreciate your videos, good job. I wish a lot of success to your channel.
Tak, są filmy, są materiały, nic tylko oglądać człowieku. U siebie raczej się nie dowiesz, jak to było.
Chris, do you want to talk about brave Polish soldiers of WW2 ? Start with Witold Pilecki. "W" in Polish we pronounce like "V" in English.
Wojtek was a part of The Third Carpathian Rifle Division. Polish division fighting with Germans in Italy during the WW2. He was receiving soldiers' food rations and had a rank of corporal.
Germany : We have best trained military dogs in all europe!
Poland : Cute
*war*
Germany: "We have dogs!"
Poland: "only dogs? regretful."
We fought on ALL fronts in WWII... I recommend "Bloody Foreigners. Untold Battle of Britain." on YT ;) Also - look closer at those "work camps" in the USSR, because it is one enormous horror for humans who in any way opposed the government... Even with those 2 info we barely scrached the surface of what happened and what WWII was.
EDIT:
I also recommend "The man who volunteered to be imprisoned in Auschwitz - BBC REEL" on YT, about Witold Pilecki.
Scuadrone 303
@@LukaszHolewi Yes
Sorry for being very serious, but before you'll start to judge them for feeding a bear with beer, fags and wine, bare in mind a few things:
1. 80 years ago animals didn't have much rights and the perception was totally different than nowdays
2. These guys was soldiers, tough an rough guys. More than that, they was only recently released from Soviet war camps. Surely they wasn't spoiled there. Tired, thousands kilometers from home, not sure what tomorrow brings, not knowing what happened to their homes and families. They desperately needed a morale booster. My guess is, that initially they gave him beer for fun. And when he appeared to like it, they just kept doing it.
3. There was war going on. People needed something to turn their attention off all those horrible things we, thanks heaven, can't even imagine. Just not to get crazy.
It depends of particular animal. One of my cats was crazy about beer. All he had to do was smell someone drinking a beer and immediately jump on their lap and demand a drink.
Let's not forget that back then people didn't know how bad smoking is.. actually the fact that soldiers shared with Wojtek beer and cigarettes instead of having more for themselves show that they really loved him in their own way.
@@maciekszymanski8340kot alkoholik 😂
Alcohol also worked as a way to cope with stress.
Brits used opium in that way
Germans pervitin
Russians cheap booze
Americans meth/Coke bars
@@アンジェリカ-u4bMy friend's dog loved beer and sometimes they drank one together. He was a fantastic dog, he lived to the age of a dog... unfortunately, he has been no longer with us for several years.
The pact between the Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, about their collaboration in attack on Poland and generally about division of Europe between them, was signed in August 1939 and it is commonly known as the Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact (it is well known not only in Poland, but also in other countries, e.g. Finland). After the Russian invasion on Poland in September 1939, a lot of Polish were murdered in genocide acts by Russians (You should read especially about the famous "Katyn Massacre" in 1940 - our film director Andrzej Wajda, an Oscar prize winner, made even a whole movie about Katyn) and imprisoned in Russian gulags (which You can call the Soviet concentration camps). About 2 millions of Polish, deported there, couldn't leave the Soviet Union. Later, after the attack of Germany on Russia in 1941, Stalin changed sides and joined the allies. So under also the influence of the UK, Poland and the Soviets signed in 1941 an agreement, so-called Sikorski-Mayski agreement, thanks to which hundreds of thousands of Polish could leave Russia. And with these people also the new Polish army - called Polish Armed Forces in the East (also called the "Anders' Army", after the name if its general - the soldiers of this army "adopted" Wojtek The Bear), was created. This army left the Soviet Union and went first through Iran to Palestine (which was under British control then). Later they joined so-called Polish Armed Forces in the West and fought in many fronts of the war, in many countries, also in Italian Campaign. And the battle of Monte Cassino in 1944 (the whole battle lasted over four months) was one of the most important battles of the II WW, and the Polish soldiers (under command of general Władysław Anders) and their attack played an really important role in this battle. Generally, Polish soldiers fought in all the fronts of the II WW and took significant part in many of the important campaigns and battles - like the battles of Arnhem, of Falaise, in Normandy, battle of England (famous Squadron 303 of Pilots), above mentioned battle of Monte Cassino and many others. One should read also (all information are available in English, also in Wikipedia) about the most famous Polish generals in these battles, for instance general Stanisław Maczek (a honorary citizen of the Netherlands, due to his role to free this country) and his "Black Devils", general Stanisław Sosabowski (in the Hollywood movie "A bridge too far" he was played by Dustin Hoffman), general Władysław Sikorski (who was killed later, in 1943 in still unexplained plane crash in Gibraltar), or above mentioned general Władysław Anders. And these are just some basic facts about Polish in the II WW.
Niesamowita wiedza ❤
@@Genia885 Dziękuję. Lubię historię. Pozdrawiam. 🙂
Thank you for this. My grandfather and his family were some of those taken by the Soviets and my neighbour here in the UK also. In this video when they said around 400 thousand were taken it hurt because from my reading of the history it was in the millions and many of them k*lled or di*d before they reached the g*lags (forgive the * sometimes YT is sensitive to what is written).
My neighbour was 8 and told me about what she remembered - being given an hour to collect belongings, the soldiers returning and k*lling many that were elderly or disabled/sick.
My grandfather was 19 at the beginning of the war and survived the journey to and conditions in the g*lags and was released to join the Polish army. He joined the first Polish independent parachute brigade and went on to be a paramedic during the battle of Arnhem.
I'm so proud of all of them.
Peace to all.
@@lollylula6399 Wow, it's so great that You remember abd cherish the memory of Your grandpa and what he and Poles like him had to go through. It was all like You write, indeed. And people like Your granpa should be remembered, for sure. And have You been in Poland? If not, You definitely should visit our country.
Very cool video. I like Wojtek
Thank you so much! :)
By the way, if you want to learn more about Polish history I truly recomend watching below film made by Polish Institute of National Remembrance
th-cam.com/video/Q88AkN1hNYM/w-d-xo.html
and one more summarizing whole of our history from the beginning to 2012 ( joining the EU)
th-cam.com/video/7SpddNW7a3k/w-d-xo.html
If you are interested in the Polish perspective, there is a great animation called Unconcered ^^ I highly recommend it.
Greetings from Wrocław, neighbor!
Poznaj osobę o nazwisku Józef Unrug - zapomniał języka niemieckiego w jeden dzień i stał się Polakiem.
Unrug ist ein Held. Ein Deutscher der polnischer Admiral wurde und nach seiner Verhaftung einen polnischen Dolmetscher verlangte da er angeblich 1939 seine Muttersprache Deutsch vergessen hat. Es ist schwer über ihn hier etwas auf englisch bzw deutsch zu finden.
th-cam.com/users/shortsnKs0SIbX30A
Hier die Möglichkeit den Inhalt automatisch übersetzen lassen.
th-cam.com/video/mwxY3mXRJ08/w-d-xo.html
Sehr locker und humorvoll erzählt. Typisch für diesen Channel.
On nie zapomniał języka niemieckiego, on po prostu nie chciał mówić tym językiem. Na przesłuchaniu przez niemców, kazał wzywać tłumacza. Polecam książkę Admirał.
@@arturboryczka9976 ,
Dokładnie tak. W języku anty dyplomatycznym zapomniał języka drutu kolczastego.
Tylko proszę mnie nie poprawiać, że to niemiecki, a nie kolczasty.
;-)
Greetings from Poland (Kraków):)
From the history I read about bear Wojtek most imortant fact were:
- he was rescued as a cub by soldiers an appeared well mannered.
- he took a great care from his new "parents" causing him very friendly
- he was so confident with people to be treated as one of the soldiers - full trust (beer, cigarettes)
- Wojtek behaved like a human understanding wrestling as a sport
- he bacame a real war hero delivering heavy boxes of ammunition during bloody machine gun battles.
PS. My real first name is Wojtek which is Polish regional name of bird stork.
That's all folks, even sad parts of history have their own beautiful pieces.
When it comes to war stories, I'd recommend you a story of a Polish warship ORP Piorun. It's absolutely crazy and perfectly shows Polish fighting spirit. There is an extremely goofy but also super funny yt video by LazerPig on this topic. It involves the Bismarck so it may be twice as interesting for you as a German.
Raczej ORP Orzeł.
Zrób reakcję na
Legendy Polskie . Twardowsky . Allegro
Twardowsky 2.0
Najbardziej znana legenda Polska z napisami angielski
Jestem za! Uwielbiam całą serię!!
Bear as pet is not a bad thing. Because bears and DOGS have very similiar software. if you remove hibernation plugin then bear is just dog with bigger model.
Somewhere on the Internet I saw an interview with a German soldier who took part in the Battle of Mone Casino and remembered Wojtek. He said that he himself and the other the German soldiers saw a bear carrying charges against them and could have shot it, but... it seemed inhumane to them to shoot at a bear on the battlefield. This is ironic considering that they shot at people and that thousands of soldiers died in this battle
Its a true story. Greetigns from Poland.
We could not have had soldiers at Polish territory during the ww II, because our country was occupied. So no Polish government, authority etc. did officially work. Everything was underground, illegal (on occupants' point of view). We had army abroad. They just joined the allies. In the movie it was said that eg. once they were in Syria, once in Palestine. So maybe the scorpion was there. For sure not in Poland.
Still, despite occupation, even in the country the Polish underground state and structures, resistance movement, Home Army structures etc. were well developed and active, opposing all the time to the occupation.
Dogs were not used to sniff out the mines. Soviets put explosives on dogs and tought them to crawl under a tanks to destroy them. Funny thing though, they did not think that German tanks sound different than Russian, so most of the dogs destroyed their own tanks.
We fought absolutely everywhere in the ww2
Poland was attacked, so the Polish fights did not take place only in Poland. Polish soldiers who were sent to Siberia and were prisoners there were later formed an army by General Anders. They followed the battle trail from Siberia through Iran, Palestine, North Africa and Italy. They also fought in France, Polish pilots defended the skies of Great Britain (watch the Battle of Britain). Poles fought all over the continent.
Wojtek got a military ID because the British ship was prohibited from transporting animals. Soldiers could be transported. That's why he was put on a soldier's seat, so as to bypass the regulation and not leave the bear alone.
yup they was giving beer to Wojtek haha
To answer your earlier question. Battalions and armies were created from soldiers held in inhumane conditions deep in Russia. Some of them created the Polish People's Army under the supervision of the USSR, and some of them got to the Middle East and formed an army under the command of General Anders (which included Wojtek). Additionally, Polish army in Great Britain and the Home Army (AK) fighting as a partisan in Poland occupied entirely by Germans and Russians. Fucked up, isn't it? But those were the times. We lasted longer than France, which was a military power and had the support of Great Britain. At the beginning of the war, we penetrated almost 200 km into the Third Reich. We fought the NKVD back in the 1950-60s... but today it doesn't matter. As we have been warning Europe for two centuries... we cannot cooperate with Russia on normal terms. Today you are starting to see it.
Chris, i like this video, story of Wojtek, btw, I am Wojtek, that's my name. Full name is Wojciech, Czech name, means "Happiness in a battle" Greetings from Poland Chris 😁
My beloved national Polish army was just weird
Imagine having the bear in the army today. Ha, ha times have changed. Your reactions to Wojtek are cute. I subscribe.
also in the 18th century, three countries atacked Poland: Germany Russia and Austria and Poland was absent for 123 years
I recommend you watch an animated film called ,, The Unconquered "
The first bear in the Polish army was the polar bear Baśka (Baśka Murmańska)
Proszę obejrzeć film ,Miasto 44, o powstaniu Warszawskim .pomoże Ci to zrozumieć traumę Polaków.Pozdrawiam😊😊
The thing about Wojtek liking to drink was that on one occasion he made a mess, while being a derpy bear, as officer stated, "under the influence", becouse no way in hell couple of beers could make a bear drunk. So they decided to punish him and his caretakers by standing at attention in the middle of the night, while fully equipped in combat gear (so guns, ammo, backpacks etc.). Even Wojtek.
Just imagine - 2 guys and a bear, in combat gear, just standing there.
Hej. Historie Wojtka, świetnie opisuje kanał Historia bez cenzury w odcinku Miśon impossible. Mają też dużo ciekawych zdjęć z Wojtkiem
@Chris discovers Poland
10:57 No there are no scorpions at Poland. Polish soldiers were fighting at the lot of 2nd WW battlefrons with the invaders. As you've heard in that video it was Sirian bear adopted by Poles ;)
11:08 This is military booklet (sth like ID for everyone that is qualified as soldier in Poland) that document confirms that Wojtek is formally Polish soldier (at the document there is written he is a part of Polish Eastern Army) :D
As to stereotype of Poles drinking much m, it’s postwar communist era stereotype and actually a truth for that period. But these were prewar Polish guys so the stereotype did not exist then.
Somewhere on the Internet I watched an interview with a German soldier who took part in the Battle of Mone Casino and remembered Wojtek. He said that he himself and other the German soldiers saw a bear carrying charges against them and could have shot it, but... it seemed inhumane to them to shoot at a bear on the battlefield. This is ironic considering that they shot at people and that thousands of soldiers died in this battle...
During world war one there was another bear whose name was Baśka and she was a polar bear. She belonged to the soldiers sent as contingent to Kamczatka as support for the Rosjan army.
11.26 to książeczka wojskowa miał stopień kaprala. W wojnie Polski z Rosją był niedźwiedź polarny, brał udział w wojnie 1920 r. i był odznaczony orderem
Fun fact Poland was one of countries that in past won with Russia and gone to Moscow (sorry if bad english)
hello I'm from Poland and Wojtek is WE hero😭
You may want to watch the movie "Katyn". It's a very good movie, but it is a heavy one.
Thanks for the video 😁
Wojtek drank beer and smoke 👍
As a German and Half Polish person i can say
Wojtek is the best i just build a Minifigure of him for my Cobi army
Wojtek's guardian had it the worst, I think that both of them had to go through this very hard because after taking him to the zoo he never saw him again, he was afraid that the memories would come back and Wojtek and he would go through this
Tak Polacy mają fantazję i z Wojtka zrobili kumpla i przyjaciela.
Great video and reaction, but too bad you didn't watch: Miśon impossible - Miś Wojtek. Historia Bez Cenzury, on the channel: Historia bez cenzury, with the option enabled to translate subtitles automatically. In my opinion, the Polish version of the same story was much sadder 😭
Yes, we have scorpions in Poland :)) I am from this sign myself. Moreover, the II Corps of the Polish army in the West was stationed in the Middle East before joining the fight during the Italian campaign. He fought against the Germans at Monte Cassino and captured Bologna. And Palestine because they evacuated from the Soviet Union through Iran, Syria and Palestine.
Wojtek MVP of WW2
private wojtek was given an official promotion after monte casino, he was made corporal, and thus outranked a lot of the 22nd
Yea in WW2 Poles Fought in Poland, Norway, erly and late France, Holand, Belgium, North Africa (Tobrook), Russia, Latvia, Belarus, Ukraine, Itally, Berline, Britain, and many more places
Yup Wojtek Was drinking beers
All is true. Wojtek was one of the boys. Sadly, after the war they didn't allow them to keep him.
Edit.: some of your videos show why Germans had a very hard time fighting Polish. You don't look for wholes in Polish logic, because if you do - you're done.
I don't understand Wojtek's taste in cigarettes either, but as for the alcohol - well, it's not particularly shocking. Wild herbivores and omnivores almost universally enjoy long-fallen fermented fruits in late autumn, with full intent and premedition, to get drunk. Bears, boars, corvids, deer and moose - these are just few examples from our biome - and the first one from other ones that comes to mind is elephants. Drunk bears are very chill, but elephants are a total menace. So, in no way his taste in beer was unnatural.
You sound like a biologist 😉
We were fighting everywhere in II WW. England, Africa, Palestine, where they needed troops. We had an alliance with UK, France, and USA, but as it appeared, one-sided.
You are looking at the story from the nawdays point od view (according to beer).
Look at this form the piont of view of ordinary soldier who live among friends. And Wojtak was one of them.
My name polish in real live wojtek💀
but he was discharged as a corporal, not a private.
Wojtek 💪💪💪👍👍👍🇵🇱🇵🇱🇵🇱❤️
Co z wami nie tak , wstrzykiwaliście małym dzieciakom gnojówkę do żył i patrzyliście co się stanie ? 😢😢😢
Zdrowie Wojtka .
We have bear to carry ammunition
Is that strange?
Yes Wojtek was drinking beer and smoking cigarettes 🙈
Two things I never do 😂 (oh wait...I think I drunk beer once, but it was Irish beer so that doesnt count 😉) (And yes I am a German that has never drunk german beer in his life😂)
@@chris.poland Wait what? German who doesn't drink beer? You should be presented in museum or something 🤣 However you look very young and it looks like young generation (called "gen z") drink much less alcohol than older generations. Maybe it's some king of trend that grew naturally...
Przeczytałem to i normalnie poleciała mi łezka.
check Legendy Alelegro ( ''Jaga" ,"Twardowski") legends from Polish folklore
about polish heroes, check a man who's name was Jeremi Wiśniowiecki.... super hero
General Anders Army went from Siberia to Italy
Hi Chris,
I am a Polish born dude, fully fluent i German, so ask me anything on Wojtek.
I thought this is a Polish story, totally bullshit.......but I would have raised this bear cub myself I inherited a lot of this Polish spirit capable tompull that off......
Wojtek is diminutive for Wojciech....cieszyć is the verb for being happy or enjoy something
My father's cousin in Scotland knew Wojtek as a kid in a Scottish zoo. Her father's unit liberated Netherlands and never returned to Poland avoiding a possible lethal fate AK resistance warriors in Poland often met.
Niedźwiedź ma na imię Wojtek dzielny wojownik
Army going to Palestyne thru all Asia from Siberia.
The story of breaking the Enigma by Polish mathematicians is also interesting, and the English were unable to even assemble this decoder with all the instructions.
I translated via Google
ciekawa jest też historia złamania enigmy przez polskich matematyków a Anglicy nie potrfaili nawet złożyć tego dekodera z całymi instrukacjami
Tak Wojtek był mądrzejszy od ciebie.😂😂😂😂
Problem is... he liked beer very much :-) Too much... They were giving him beer on rare occasions.
Watch "Historia bez cenzury" about Bear Wojtek. That have more information, about life with soldiers, and sad moment for him in zoo, and why he don't back to Poland
Piękna historia ❤
10:04 it was ww2, poles were fighting all over the world. they were in middle east when it happened. 10:46 because Poland was not on the map at this time and these soldiers escaped soviet union through middle east
11:05 that's his military ID
11:13 he was a corporal at the end of the war
We didn't give him beer and cigarettes.
what is wrong with us? We are compleately fine! Some other, cruel nations would drink and let bear just stare but we share all goodies with fellow soldiers.
The difference between Polish and Russian. Russians would force this bear to dance. Polish gave him beer and took him to war :D
Bear Wojtek got the rank as a privet.