Post by peterd on Jan 1, 2013 6:44:28 GMT -8
Brown bear adopted by Polish soldiers in WW2 to be given statue in Princes Street Gardens
A NAZI-fighting brown bear who was the pride of the Polish infantry before seeing out his life at Edinburgh Zoo is set to be immortalised by a statue in Princes Street Gardens.
The six-foot-tall orphan Syrian bear, known as “Private Wojtek”, became a potent symbol of the Polish struggle in the Second World War after being reared by soldiers and later helping them carry boxes of live shells from lorries to gun emplacements during battle. Like his comrades, he was also known to recharge from the fighting by drinking beer and smoking cigarettes.
Now a huge bronze cast of the unlikely war hero by sculptor Alan Heriot could be mounted in central Edinburgh next year – to mark the 50th anniversary of the bear’s death. Expected to cost £200,000, the plans form part of a long campaign by the Wojtek Memorial Trust to highlight the bear’s remarkable tale and honour Poland’s wartime sacrifice.
www.warhistoryonline.com/war-articles/brown-bear-adopted-by-polish-soldiers-in-ww2-to-be-given-statue-in-princes-street-%C2%ADgardens.html?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=brown-bear-adopted-by-polish-soldiers-in-ww2-to-be-given-statue-in-princes-street-%25c2%25adgardens
A NAZI-fighting brown bear who was the pride of the Polish infantry before seeing out his life at Edinburgh Zoo is set to be immortalised by a statue in Princes Street Gardens.
The six-foot-tall orphan Syrian bear, known as “Private Wojtek”, became a potent symbol of the Polish struggle in the Second World War after being reared by soldiers and later helping them carry boxes of live shells from lorries to gun emplacements during battle. Like his comrades, he was also known to recharge from the fighting by drinking beer and smoking cigarettes.
Now a huge bronze cast of the unlikely war hero by sculptor Alan Heriot could be mounted in central Edinburgh next year – to mark the 50th anniversary of the bear’s death. Expected to cost £200,000, the plans form part of a long campaign by the Wojtek Memorial Trust to highlight the bear’s remarkable tale and honour Poland’s wartime sacrifice.
www.warhistoryonline.com/war-articles/brown-bear-adopted-by-polish-soldiers-in-ww2-to-be-given-statue-in-princes-street-%C2%ADgardens.html?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=brown-bear-adopted-by-polish-soldiers-in-ww2-to-be-given-statue-in-princes-street-%25c2%25adgardens