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Troki Yizkor Book
(Trakai, Lithuania)
Project Synopsis
This project is being initiated in order to
fund the translation of the 79-page Yizkor Book. Originally published
in Hebrew and Yiddish in 1954 in Tel Aviv, the editor is listed as
“Former Residents of Trakai in Israel.” The goal is to eventually
provide a complete translation of this book to JewishGen.
JewishGen currently only has a translation of the title page and a
three-page “List of Martyrs from Trakai.” The New York Public
Library Yizkor collection does not have a copy of the original.
Key Audiences
Jewish genealogists who have ancestors from Troki will
be interested in possibly learning the fate of cousins who never
emigrated. The project will also be of interest to those studying
Trakai, Lithuania, capital of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in medieval
times. Trakai also remains the center of the Karaite sect of
Judaism, and it is hoped that the Yizkor will provide information for
historians studying Karaism.
Project Importance
Yizkor books are unique sources of information on
once vibrant towns, primarily in central and Eastern Europe, whose
Jewish populations were destroyed in the Holocaust. Written after World
War II by émigrés and Holocaust survivors, YIzkor books
contain narratives of the history of the town, details of daily life,
religious and political figures and movements, religious and secular
education, and gripping stories of the major intellectual and Zionist
movements of the 20th century. The necrologies and lists of residents
are of tremendous genealogical value, as often the names of individuals
who were taken to extermination camps or died in the forests are not
recorded elsewhere.
Trakai is located 27 km west of Vilnius, the capital of
Lithuania. It is of extreme historical importance to
Lithuania. Per Wikipedia: “Trakai Island Castle
(Lithuanian: Trakų salos pilis) is an island castle located in Trakai,
Lithuania on an island in Lake Galvė. The construction of the stone
castle was begun in the 14th century by Kęstutis, and around 1409 major
works were completed by his son Vytautas the Great, who died in this
castle in 1430. Trakai was one of the main centres of the Grand Duchy
of Lithuania and the castle held great strategic importance.” The ruins
of the castle were famous to 18th century European travelers, and the
modern restoration, though no longer as romantic as the ruins, is
impressive to say the least.
Trakai is also extremely important in the history of Karaite
Judaism. Karaites were given exclusive rights as Jews to live in
the town from 1388 until 1862, when Ashkenazi settlers were given
rights to move there that were never revoked by the Russians. But
the Karaite/Ashkenazi relations were never resolved. Per the Jewish
Virtual Library article on Troki, “before the outbreak of World War II,
there were about 300 Jews in Troki. The Jewish community was liquidated
on Sept. 30, 1941. Only the Karaite community remained, and according
to the 1959 Soviet census there were 5,700 Karaites in Troki. After the
war the Jewish community was not reconstituted.”
However, the YIVO Encyclopedia article on Trakai seems to contradict
several of these points. “By 1939, the Jewish population had
dwindled to approximately 300. During the Holocaust, the Nazis
considered Karaites to be members of the “Turkish race,” and did not
persecute them. Karaite leaders even submitted a list of all members of
their community to the German authorities so as to prevent Rabbinites
from infiltrating. By contrast, the Rabbinites of Trakai and its
surroundings (numbering about 2,500) were deported on 30 November 1941
to an island on the lake of Trakai, where they were murdered. Today,
approximately 20 families in the town identify themselves as Karaites,
out of a population of 6,000. The Karaite kenesa (synagogue) has
survived, and serves also as a museum of the Karaite community.”
Hopefully, Troki will help clarify the dates and numbers. It is
unclear whether the “300” in both of the above articles includes the
Karaites.
In any case, it is clear that the Jewish population of Trakai was
small. And JGFF only lists 46 researchers for Trakai. But a
translation of Troki will also interest any who study medieval
Lithuania or the Karaites.
Project Description
As funds become available, Hebrew pages will be
translated into English by a professional translator. The
book is small enough to be translated from beginning to end at an
orderly pace, without pause. The project coordinator will review
the translation and work closely with the translator to ensure a
grammatically correct and idiomatic translation.
Estimated Cost
A full translation is currently estimated to cost
$2,500. It is not expected that this will change materially.
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Updated 28 Aug 2016 by LA
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