Działalność wileńskiego oddziału Związku Kulturalno-Oświatowego Tatarów Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej
The acitivity of the Vilno branch of the Cultural and Educational Association of Polish Republic Tatars

Summary/Abstract: The aim of the article is to describe the activity of the Vilno branch of the Cultural and Educational Association of Polish Republic Tatars, according to the monographic method. The materials used come from New Documents Archive in Warsaw (Pol. ‘Archiwum Akt Nowych’) and Lithuanian Central Archive in Vilnius, which had not been used previously. The Second Polish Republic was inhabited by approximately five thousand Tatars, who formed the smallest ethnic and religious minority in the multinational structure of Poland. The period between World Wars was a time of very intensive cultural and educational work of Tatar activists for their community. The activity of the Vilno branch of the Cultural and Educational Association of Polish Republic Tatars was the most effective and diverse, and it set the example for other Tatar centres. The main areas of the activity included: transfer of knowledge – organising lectures, holding libraries and museums and publishing of the monthly Tatar Life; as well as forms that contributed to the integration of the community, e.g. organising meetings and balls on common holidays. Furthermore, the Tatar youth showed great activity in the raising of the cultural advancement of their community. The young activists of the Tatar Youth Circle in the Cultural and Educational Association of Polish Republic Tatars played a significant role in the raising of the consciousness of Tatars.

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