The Twentieth-Century Vilnius Region in the Essays of Tadeusz Tomaszewski

Abstract

This article is devoted to an analysis of the essayistic prose of Tadeusz Tomaszewski, entitled Skakał bękart po dyrwanie. This collection of essays has not yet been published and is currently seeking a publisher. It belongs to the genre of memoiristic prose, exploring both the recent and the more distant past. The author’s nostalgic memory reconstructs the most significant events and experiences of his own biography, situating them within a broader historical, social, and cultural context. This recollection of facts and experiences connected with the author’s ‘small homeland’ (mała ojczyzna) acquires a broader and deeper significance, as it is representative of the history of the Vilnius Region in the second half of the 20th century and the sentiments of a Pole hailing from that area.