Winnie-the-Jew? The 100-year-old bear’s secret Jewish history

Winnie-the-Pooh is celebrating his 100th birthday this year, and despite his very English antecedence – bought in Harrods, raised in rural Sussex – he also acquired a secret Jewish history as his fame spread. It may have been author AA Milne who renamed him, but it was a Jewish creative who brought Pooh to international attention, making him the world’s favourite bear before Paddington was even born, and another, an animator, who added a mezuzah to his doorpost.

American graphic artist and producer Stephen Slesinger was first to see the merchandising potential of the honey-fresser, on reading Milne’s account of the bear’s adventures. In 1930, he acquired the rights to create a new version of the toy bear the author’s son Christopher Robin used to bump down the stairs, and got permission to bring out records, puzzles and board games bearing his image. Within a year, Pooh merchandise was said to have grown into a $50 million business.

Pooh Corner is Ashdown Forest, where Christopher Robin bought his sweets, now a tea room, souvenir shop and museum[Missing Credit]

Slesinger first gave Pooh his red shirt, 30 years before Walt Disney immortalised it with the bear and his beloved crew on the silver screen. And another Jew, Saul Blinkoff, added a mezuzah to Pooh’s doorpost in a 2004 animation, admitting in interviews that for him the bear had transmogrified into Winnie-the-Jew. The Jewish songwriting brothers employed by Disney, Richard and Robert Sherman, wrote music and lyrics for the celluloid stories. A Winnie sequel, Return to the Hundred Acre Wood by David Benedictus, was published in 2009.

Pooh’s posse exhibit even more Jewish tendencies than the nosh-loving bear himself. They kvetch (Eeyore), question (Owl) and kvell (Tigger and Piglet), so it’s no surprise that a Yiddish version, Vini-der-Pu has been a best-seller on foreign language bookshelves since Leonard Wolf translated it in 2000. Eeyore becomes Iya and Owl is Uvi, exclaiming “Oy gevalt” over his krakh (honey) in the Hundert-akordliker Vald.

The toys that inspired AA Milne's stories can be viewed free in New York Public Library (Credit: NY Public Library)[Missing Credit]

This last is, of course, England’s own Hundred Acre Wood, where many events will take place this year to mark the centenary of Pooh’s birth. Ashdown Forest in East Sussex was the childhood playground of Christopher Robin and his animal menagerie. It’s an easy run from London, and families can meander at their own pace on six new nature trails which have been created to celebrate the centenary, or join a guided character-themed hike.

Refreshments are available at Pooh Corner, which has stood on the site since 1703; the house where Christopher Robin once bought sweets is now a tea-room, souvenir shop and museum. Other local highlights include Piglet’s House, Eeyore’s Gloomy Place, Poohsticks Bridge and a memorial to AA Milne and illustrator EH Shepard.

While Ashdown Forest is a year-round destination, this summer sees special events. Highlights include a September open gardens weekend at Cotchford Farm, the home from where Milne would set out on walks with his son plus bear companion. It’s now a holiday rental, while Ashdown Park & Country Cub makes a good overnight hotel base, offering its own Pooh packages and themed events including a Hunny Pot afternoon tea. Further afield a touring exhibition of illustrations, manuscripts and memorabilia will be on display at Tatton Park in Cheshire.

Queen Camilla delivers a new Roo (Credit: NY Pulic Library/Jonathan Blanc)[Missing Credit]

Across the pond, Pooh fever continues in New York, home to the original stuffed bear and his Made in England friends since 1947. The toys that inspired the stories, including Piglet, Tigger, Kanga and Eeyore, have long been a favourite feature of the free-to-view Treasures exhibition at New York Public Library, but Baby Roo joined them only in April, when Queen Camilla presented one made by the original toy-makers to replace the Roo lost in an orchard back in the day.

Although Disney did not become a Pooh player until the 1960s, it is joining in this birthday year with its own events and new merchandise, such as a brick-built Lego bear with a moveable honey pot, and a birthday cake for Piglet which opens to reveal the house where Pooh lived in the Hundred Acre Wood.

And what bliss it is to be Britain-based and have the actual forest on our doorstep, to take kids and grandkids for a stroll, a game of Poohsticks – and a taste of honey.

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Winnie-the-Jew? The 100-year-old bear’s secret Jewish history

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