Listy Włodzimierza Zajączkowskiego do profesora Tadeusza Kowalskiego

Włodzimierz Zajączkowski (1914–1982), who prior to WWII had been a graduate student in the Institute of the Middle East Studies at the Jagiellonian University, returned in the autumn of 1946 to Cracow in order to complete his Ph.D. thesis on the Gagauz Turks. Published in this paper are nineteen of his letters addressed to Professor Tadeusz Kowalski, the first four of which date from his years as a doctoral student, while the latter fifteen were written during WWII (VII 1940 – V 1944). Sending those letters was not easy, as on the wayfrom Vilnius to Cracow they had to pass through Kaunas and Königsberg. This correspondence is currently stored in the Archive of Science of PAN and PAU in Cracow under the signature K-III-4, 178, pp. 25–70. The first four letters describe the events of a holiday he spent with family in Trakai and Vilnius and explain when he plans to return to Cracow. In the latter letters W. Zajączkowski describes life in Vilnius under German occupation, his work and living situation. He also writes about his Karaim family and friends. He replies to the professor’s questions regarding certain people and events, including Seraya Shapshaland his efforts to establish the Karaim Museum. The letters are a great source of knowledge on the Karaim community in Vilnius and Trakai and how they coped with the German occupation.