When you learn the story of some Polish soldiers and civilians' WWII saga including being imprisoned in the Soviet Union at the start of WWII, then escaping down through what is today central Russia, Iran, Syria, Palestine and Libya before arriving in Italy in 1943 to help Allied Forces end Nazi and Italian Fascist tyranny, it is easy to wonder how they survived such trauma. Surely, human perseverance played the biggest role. But they had a little help from a furry animal they found in the mountains of Iran. Named Wojtek - which means joyful warrior in Polish - it was a cub brown bear whose mother had been killed. Raised by the Poles during their saga across the Middle East and North Africa, he was enlisted in the Polish Army in late 1943 in order to get around British Navy rules forbidding the presence of animals on battleships that were transporting troops across the Mediterranean Sea to Italy. By that time Wojtek was far more than a morale-boosting pet. He was a brave artillery brigade asset who transported ammunition in the heat of battle. Mimicking fellow soldiers , Wojtek also adopted their fondness for beer, cigarettes and wrestling. Although Wojtek's presence was not enough to save some Polish soldiers from desperate acts upon hearing the news of the betrayal by Roosevelt and Churchill at the February 1945 Yalta Conference, he did help keep a smile on many a face during the Gothic Line Offensive and well after the end of WWII in Italy and Europe.

For more info about this story and others in the podcast contact Joe Kirwin at the following email address: [email protected]