More informationProject website:N/A

The eTwinning website:https://twinspace.etwinning.net/23911

Erasmus+

Key facts and figuresErasmus+

Project titleWojtek the Soldier Bear

Field: School Education (eTwinning)Action: eTwinning Project

PartnersSzkoła Podstawowa nr 9 im. Mikołaja Kopernika in Dzierżoniów, Poland;Eastburn Junior and Infant School, United Kingdom

The project ‘Wojtek the Soldier Bear’ helps students study history of the Second World War through innovative lessons ‘Wojtek the Soldier Bear’ helped students from two partner schools from United Kingdom and Poland find out more about their common history. The brown bear was adopted by the Polish army during the Second World War and gained fame by participating in military manoeuvres as a fellow soldier.

The book written by Aileen Orr, ‘Wojtek The Bear: Polish War Hero’, was an inspiration for the project coordinators who decided that this should be the starting point of their project. They introduced the book to all participating students who had to read it and research the history of the famous bear.

Diana Linford, one of the coordinators of the project, said:

‘ We talked with students about migration and the drama of people who migrate because of war. Students realised how different nations helped each other during the war. Europeans have to know their history to avoid conflicts in the future.’

The Polish students told the story of Wojtek in drawings which were transformed into a short movie, while their British colleagues created the music.

Furthermore, students had the possibility to hear the stories of the WWII survivors. One of the pupils illus-trated the memories of Maria, a survivor, who as a little girl was imprisoned with her family by Soviets and taken to a labour camp in Siberia.

After the project, students are still in contact, sharing letters and bookmarks; they learnt how to share opin-ions, different cultures and to communicate between different countries.

An innovative way of studying the Second World War

Photo: © D Linford & A Szczepaniak

Participants:80

Countries:2

EU grant:N/A

Project duration:2016-2018