Karaite Vital Record Books from Halych, Lutsk, Panevėžys, Trakai, and Vilnius from 1912–1940
Karaite Vital Record Books from Halych, Lutsk, Panevėžys, Trakai, and Vilnius from 1912–1940

Summary/Abstract: Vital record books are extremely important sources for historians, genealogists,demographers, and statisticians. They are particularly sought after by researchers of religious and ethnic minorities, which due to their small populations are not included in many official statistics or state censuses, or the data concerning them are very incomplete. Without question, among these minorities are the Karaites, who in the 20th century lived in countries such as Lithuania, Poland, and Russia. In the Republic of Poland during the interwar period, Karaite communities were active in Halych, Lutsk, Trakai, and Vilnius. Closely related to the communities in Poland was the community in Panevėžys; its location in independent Lithuania during the interwar period significantly hindered direct contact between it and its Polish counterparts. These Karaite communities, run by local hazzans, were subject to the authority of a clerical board in Trakai, which from 1928 was led by the hakham of the Second Polish Republic, Seraya Shapshal. Even during the partitions, hazzans were obliged to keep vital record books on births, marriages, and deaths. For understandable reasons, this practice continued during the interwar period, at least until the outbreak of World War II. Many of these books, including those from the community in Panevėžys, have been deposited in the Lithuanian State Historical Archives in Vilnius. This article addresses demographical, historical, ethnographic, statistical, and onomastic aspects of all the vital record books from the abovementioned communities

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