Vilniuswilnovilna behind the name whatever the spelling used for its name, the city was the capital of lithuania for hundreds of years, even when lithuania was conjoined with poland in a commonwealth. Kashubian surnames lz polish genealogical society of. According to wikipedia wilno ontario wilno is the first and oldest polish settlement in canada. History of vilnius simple english wikipedia, the free. During the first two and a half decades of the twentieth century huge changes took place in the city known by russians and jews as vilna, by poles as wilno, and by lithuanians as vilnius. A parish history from the 1983 jubilee book come to the fertile bluegrass region of minnesota. As i suspected before reading, sheer luck of geography played a big part in the success and failure of the state. Ive found three different immigration manifests referring to a townvillage spelled. The interwar polish names of the towns are in italics. Numerous and frequentlyupdated resource results are available from this search. Having no background in polish history, other than what little was covered in high school history, i wanted to acquaint myself with the history and heritage of this nation, before taking a trip to poland. On february 20 1922 after an elections, the whole area was attached to poland, with the city as the capital of the wilno voivodship wilno being the name of vilnius in polish. The days of polandlithuania as a great power ended, and so were the days. A very interesting book that offers a comprehensive picture of the history of poland from the middle ages to a few years ago.
This compassionately written history provides readers with a clear understanding of polands complex history from its origins in the middle. The heritage store also has a variety of family books i. Wilno is the polish name for what is now the lithuanian city of vilnius. Surviving records less than 100 years old are held in the civil records offices urzad stanu cywilnego of each town. I introduced jim to my friends and relativesand after teaching them how to pronounce my new name, i flew off to canada to meet jims family and relatives, i. In this paper i will view these changes through a single axis, so to speak, that of poles vs. Jaminski zespol indeksacyjny jaminski indexing team. Here youll find record collections, history, and genealogy resources to help you trace your vilnius ancestors. History, memory and identity in canadas first polish community. I believe theyre all the same townvillage but cannot find it. It will take time to read but you will walk away with a wealth of historical information that will last a lifetime. For information on the 20th century records available for your town, visit the routes to roots foundation website, click on the search database button on the right side and enter the town name.
After the third partition of polishlithuanian commonwealth in 1795, vilnius was annexed by the russian empire and. Adomas mickevicius, a famous poet who wrote praises for lithuania in thepolish language. Recommended books about polish history and world politics 19441963. History books recommended polish history and world politics. Beginning on february 10, 1940, almost two million citizens of eastern poland were forcibly removed from their homes by joseph stalins nkvd and deported to siberian gulags, where they suffered unspeakable hardship, deprivation, and extermination through work. At the first session in the puppet central lithuanian parliament on 20 february 1922, the decision was made to annex the whole area to poland, with vilnius becoming the capital of the wilno voivodship. Vilnius is an example to othersa contested city, but not a divided one. Kashubian surnames ak polish genealogical society of. With the end of world war i, a new republic of poland emerged on the maps of europe, made up of some of the territory from the first polish republic, including wolyn and wilno, and significant parts of belarus, upper silesia, eastern galicia, and east prussia. The web site also has the story of the crosses which are common at crossroads in the wilno area. In 1860, a railway line, the first in lithuania, crossed wilno and connected the town with st. Poland is a land whose boundaries and people have been divided and redivided by conquering nations throughout its long and tumultuous history.
Literally dozens of pamphlets and books arguing each. History of vilnius the tolerant capital of the largest medieval state until 1655 according to a legend, vilnius was established by duke gediminas in the early 14th century, after his dream of an iron wolf was so interpreted by a pagan oracle lizdeika. Metrical books, 17971890 roman catholic church records births, marriages, deaths for lida, lida, vil. The settlers, who arrived in the wilno area in 1858, were from the kashubian prussian part of poland and their ancestors living in. Ramoty starego detiuka o wolyniu poland ukraine lithuania. A bicycle trip for members of zionist youth organizations in vilnius vilna. The first european settlers in this area, circa 1858, were mainly of kashubian origin from the then prussian area of poland. The collections of the lithuanian state historical archives clearly reflect the geopolitical history of poland and lithuania, countries connected by a union lasting centuries. The polish partner in the commonwealth dominated it to the extent that polish was the dominant language and the city was called wilno.
Only now, as it enters the 21st century, is it a stable democracy with a bright economic and political future. Explore the worlds largest collection of free family trees, genealogy records and resources. Each book, film, fiche, or map is assigned a call number. My grandfather came to the us in 1904 from wilno, russia. They represent the kashub immigration to wilno dating back to 1858 and the polish immigration to wilno dating back to 1864. Presenting jewish history also clarifies urban history, because jews lived in the. The terms poland and poles appear for the first time in medieval chronicles of the late 10th century.
One polish familys journey from siberia to freedom by hilary shew from the publisher. Under the terms of the germansoviet pact, vilna, along with the rest of eastern poland, was occupied by soviet forces in late september 1939. Language and lineage press publishes information relevant to genealogical research in central and eastern europe, with particular emphasis on the territories of the former commonwealth of two nations, the kingdom of poland and the grand duchy of lithuania. Polish forces occupied vilna in 1920, and before the outbreak of world war ii, the city of vilna was part of northeastern poland. They are happy for the lithuanian people to have their capital in vilnius wilno. Capital city vilnius and its surroundings as well as the manors in many places of lithuania except for samogitia switched to polish over generations. During world war i wilno was occupied by the kaisers troops for three and a half years.
Blank ma, 2010 officially launched his book, creating kashubia. My peredneyperednapiridni ancestors left lithuania for the us between 190019. The parts of lithuania with the largest numbers of poles were the areas of vilnius, kaunas, hrodna now in belarus, trakai, marijampole, and merkine polish names wilno. On saturday may 7, 2016 during the annual kashub day festival in wilno, ontario joshua c. Welcome to our vilnius family history research page. Wilno is nestled in the rolling, picturesque terrain of the madawaska valley which was largely shaped during the demise of the laurentide ice sheet at the end of the last north american ice age. The dukes dux were originally the commanders of an armed retinue druzyna with which they. In the early days, the pioneers attended church at brudenell. See also the list of polish monarchs and list of prime ministers of poland. See more ideas about vilnius, poland, lithuania travel. The biernacki family, the kowalski family of barrys bay, the john a.
The book also traces the institutional development of the roman catholic. As custodians of canadas polish kashub history and culture, the wilno heritage society is proud to celebrate their polish kashub heritage. I particularly like the fact that is showing the great differences that this history had compered with the rest of europe, with the resistance to centralized power giving the tone to the beginning and then greatly influence the development of the polish state, in any form. In early wilno church records the name was spelled jenta. The only thing that really connects me with the author is vilna wilno in polish, vilnius in. Vilnius dispute, postworld war i conflict between poland and lithuania over possession of the city of vilnius wilno and its surrounding region. Nowhere in europe did jews have so much freedom in setting up their own communities. Poland uniting families contents helps for using this research outline 1. The kashub day festival wilno heritage society home page. Thiis documentary movie was made shortly before ii world war by the germans original version, with german comment, is also available in yt. With the end of world war i, a new republic of poland emerged on the maps of. The predominant languages of the city were still polish and, to a lesser extent, yiddish. It is blessed with the soil of the river bottoms and the climate of the mountains.
This work, originally published in 1924 in polish, is loaded with facts, tables, and maps. This information is based on a page of testimony displayed to the left submitted on 03011978 by his cousin yosef maharshak was born in wilno, poland in 1936 to avraham and sheine. The book provides quite a lot of information, for a general history, but what interested me the most was the overall lessons and patterns in poland s history. The bicyclists, who set out on may 5, 1920 the beginning of the lag bomer holiday, carried a blue and white flag with the word zion in hebrew, and various placards, in hebrew and yiddish, with slogans in support of labor and the jewish peoples return to the land of israel. Wilno is the first and oldest polish settlement in canada. This information is based on a page of testimony displayed on left submitted by her sisterinlaw rachel holtzman. Lucy schildkret dawidowicz june 16, 1915 december 5, 1990, was an american historian and an author of books on modern jewish history, in particular books on the holocaust. Ramoty starego detiuka o wolyniu poland ukraine lithuania book wilno 1914 rare ebay. The year 82 begins the remarkable recorded history of this miraculous painting.
Wilno is a blink on ontario highway 60, between killaloe and barrys bay, nestled in the pass between the madawaska and bonnechere valleys. King jan sobieski of poland was close to the kashubs. History books recommended polish history and world. Now i am reading a family history where the person states his lineage from wilno, poland and says that wilno aka vilna was part of polish terrain unti roughly 1900. Where henias father owned lots of land including the building which the family of 5 lived in, the neighboring land and a distillery stay safe and healthy. The council of ambassadors and the international community with the exception of lithuania recognized vilnius wilno as part of poland in 1923. James michener poland is by far the best book i have read. The city of vilnius, the capital and largest city of lithuania, has undergone a diverse history. Two early priests, one in wilno, ontario, another in polonia, wisconsin by that name. Between the two world wars 19191939, most of vilna gubernia was in poland wilno province. Several hundred descendants and residents some who travelled from as far away as northern poland unveiled family stones, listened. It was created in 1926 and populated predominantly by poles with notable minorities of belarusians, jews and lithuanians. Poland and lithuania both claimed vilna vilnius after world war i. The history of wilno web site has some interesting facts about canadas oldest polish settlement.
By the 20th century, poland had attracted the largest jewish community in europe. The original settlers in this area circa 1858 were mainly of kashubian origin from kaszebe. Naturalization documents say they were from vilna, russia wilno, poland. In the process of lithuanization polish language books were removed from stores and polish language street. This area had many ethnic germans as well as polish. It covers three families over the course of eight centuries. And the town itself has a story of canadas history to tell. Polish forces, concentrated in the west, were relatively weak in the east. The original settlers in this area, circa 1858, were from the kaszuby region kashubian from the then prussian area of poland. Look for the town name in the repositorycity column of the search results. The land that the poles, a west slavic people, came to inhabit was covered by forests with small areas under cultivation where clans grouped themselves into numerous tribes. On 16th february, 1918, the lithuanian council in wilno proclaimed an independent lithuanian republic. The settlers, who arrived in the wilno area in 1858, were from the kashubian prussian part of poland and their ancestors living in the area celebrate their unique culture to this day.
Mar 20, 2017 user the key word in your question was made very clearly next to no pole today wants vilnius to belong to poland or the polish people. He was of polish descent, but i always understood that he was, in fact, from lithuania. In independent lithuania, between the two world wars 19191939, jewish vital records were organized by rabbinate district, especially after 1926. The resulting conglomeration of ethnic groups left many substantial minorities wanting independence. Therefore constitute an integral part of what has been called the kashubian diaspora. It is a celebration of our rich and unique kashub culture here in the valley. The battle of wilno was fought by the polish army against the soviet invasion of poland in 1939, which accompanied the german invasion of poland in accordance with molotovribbentrop pact 82 on 1819 september, soviet forces took over the city of wilno now vilnius. It begins with the story of poland in 800 ad, and continues all the way through the solidarity movement.
The wilno tavern is well known for serving excellent polish food. It is original full authentic of legendary classic work by history of volyn region which related to poland, lithuania and ukraine. Wilno villages database language and lineage press. What made polish people think that vilnius belonged to them. The book provides quite a lot of information, for a general history, but what interested me the most was the overall lessons and patterns in polands history. Lithuanian community that considered the city its historical capital. They are an integral part of what has been called the kashubian diaspora. Weeks southern illinois university at carbondale the national council for eurasian and east european research 910 17th street, n.
The latter are largescale, foldout ones, showing the movements of polish and soviet troops in considerable detail. This is a timeline of polish history, comprising important legal and territorial changes and political events in poland and its predecessor states. Oclcs webjunction has pulled together information and resources to assist library staff as they consider how to handle coronavirus. Dawidowicz was born in new york city as lucy bagleizer. Polish kashub heritage museum december 20, 2019 at 6. In the period before world war i, there were seven uyezds of vilna gubernia. Vilnius contested city books and arts the economist.
To read about the background to these events, see history of poland. Briediss subtle and evocative book about their citys history. Russian cavalry and infantry entering the polish city of wilno vilnius after joint germanrussian aggression against poland. Although the new lithuanian government established itself at vilnius in late 1918, it evacuated the city when soviet forces moved in on january 5, 1919. Reliable information about the coronavirus covid19 is available from the world health organization current situation, international travel.