Produkcja: FILMLUX we wspólpracy z RAI STORIA
Film Eleny de Varda, 60 min.

STRESZCZENIE: „Za nasza wolnosc i wasza” to poruszajacy i wzruszajacy napis na polskim pomniku wojennym w poludniowych Wloszech. Byl to okrzyk bojowy tysiecy polskich zolnierzy w 1944 roku w bitwie o Monte Cassino, jednej z najbardziej krwawych i decydujacych bitew II wojny swiatowej.

Sojusznicy podbili Afryke Pólnocna i posuwali sie powoli na pólnoc od podnóza Wloch, ale utkneli w pozornie nie do zdobycia niemieckich fortyfikacjach biegnacych przez najwezszy punkt Wloch, zwany Linia Gustawa. Do maja 1944 r. Alianci walczyli na Linii Gustawa przez cztery miesiace. Trzy glówne ofensywy nie powiodly sie, ale jego zniszczenie bylo kluczowe dla zapewnienia aliantom natarcia na Rzym.

Do czwartej ofensywy aliantów wsparla niesamowita polska armia, utworzona glównie z obywateli polskich zwolnionych z obozów pracy stalinowskiej na Syberii. Lepsze planowanie i koordynacja zapewnic sukces i slynny polski 2 ^nd  Corps radosnie schwytany opactwo na szczycie Monte Cassino i nie tylko pomógl otworzyc droge do Rzymu, ale takze, mieli nadzieje, droge do ojczyzny Polski.

Following the battle of Monte Cassino the Polish 2^nd Corps advanced along the Adriatic coast and were joined by Italian soldiers, once on the side of the Germans now with the allies they now fought together for their liberation as brothers; the same ideas, the same spirit, but facing two differing destinies. The Italians were liberated and achieved democracy immediately after the war; but for most Poles it was to take almost half a century with the victory of Solidarity (Solidarnosc) in 1989. Sadly, for the Poles from eastern Poland exiled to the labour camps of Siberia their Poland was never to return. Initially incorporated into the Soviet Union eastern Poland is now part of Belarus and Ukraine and its former residents dispersed around the globe are part ofPolonia – the Polish Diaspora.

The fate of Poland had effectively been sealed even before the Polish involvement at Monte Cassino. In what is now considered to be the “Western Betrayal” of Poland Churchill and Roosevelt in a confidential agreement signed at Tehran had acceded to Stalin’s demands on Poland’s post war eastern border. In Italy over 150,000 Polish soldiers continued to fight with enthusiasm even though their future was far from clear.

The cruel fate of Polish Army is reflected by the fate of another emblematic character, Wojtek the bear, official symbol of the 22^ndTransport Company of the Polish 2^nd Corps. He was bought from locals near the town of Hamadan in Iran as the Polish Army travelled from Russia to camps in Iraq. As he grew he became a companion to the soldiers and was only allowed to travel by being drafted into the army with official military documents and a passport and so the legend of Wojtek the soldier bear was born.

Wojtek grew into an adult bear weighing almost 250 kilos and standing nearly 2 metres tall. He enjoyed drinking beer, wrestling with his fellow soldiers and helped moving crates of ammunition even in the thick of battle. At the end of the war he travelled to Scotland where he became popular among local civilians and the press but when the soldiers demobilised he was given to Edinburgh zoo where he lived until his death in 1963.

The destiny of Wojtek, downgraded from the famous soldier bear to an exhibit in Edinburgh Zoo is reflected in the fate of the Polish 2nd Corps: they too never realised the freedom they struggled and fought so hard for. The film follows the parallel destinies of Wojtek the bear and the veterans of the Polish 2^nd Corps now spread around the globe.

Nasz film powstaje z materialów archiwalnych z calego swiata, przeprowadzajac wywiady z ocalalymi i ich bliskimi przy wykorzystaniu oryginalnych zdjec i filmów. Opisuje malo znany i niewiarygodny rozdzial najnowszej historii nie tylko z punktu widzenia bardzo wyjatkowego niedzwiedzia, ale takze z niewyobrazalnego cierpienia i izolacji narodu polskiego rozdartego wojna i walczacego o odbudowe swojej przyszlosci, wspieranego przez niezachwiana wiara.
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