Activities of St Casimir’s society for education and care of young people in Vilnius district (1925-1936)

Straipsnio tikslas - nustatyti Šv. Kazimiero d-jos veiklos Vilniuje ir Vilniaus krašte tikslus, jos įvairiapusiškumą ir mastą. Siekiant straipsnio tikslo išskiriami trys uždaviniai: 1) išanalizuoti Šv. Kazimiero d-jos steigimo aplinkybes ir svarbiausias priežastis, suformavusias draugijos tikslą; 2) nustatyti draugijos tikslui pasiekti pasirinktą veiklos modelį, priemones ir jų įgyvendinimo mastą Vilniuje ir Vilniaus krašte 1925-1936 m.; 3) išanalizuoti Šv. Kazimiero d-jos Centro valdybos instruktorių funkcijas ir jų vietą draugijos veikloje. Straipsnio objektas - Šv. Kazimiero d-jos tikslams įgyvendinti skirtos priemonės ir jų mastas aktyviuoju draugijos veiklos laikotarpiu (1926-1938 m.). Tyrimo chronologinės ribos - 1925-1936 m., t. y. nuo draugijos įsteigimo iki Lenkijos pradėto plataus draugijos veiklos ribojimo (masinio draugijos skyrių uždarymo. [...].The article analyses the activities and their scope of St Casimir’s Society for Education and Care of Young People in Polish-occupied Vilnius and Vilnius District between 1925 and 1936. The society that was based on national and Catholic values was established in Vilnius in 1925 under very difficult conditions. Its goal was to foster and promote self-education of young people of Lithuania. To implement this goal the society established departments in the regions and organised there educational activities. Various educational events and public lectures were often held, while lectures promoting national selfawareness were most popular. Then came small libraries opened in most of the society’s department, which were an important means of self-education. The scope of the spread and implementation of other measures introduced by the society (reading-rooms, kindergartens, various circles) was limited. According to the extent of the network of St Casimirs Society departments and the implementation of the measures taken, the most active were those in the counties of Švenčioniai and Vilnius-Trakai, while the least active were in Gardinas and Ašmena counties. In the activities of the society its instructors who were assigned the control of the departments played an important role: they ensured information exchange between the society’s leadership and its regional departments and performed educational activities that were particularly popular