Dienoraštis, 1915-1918 m. Kn. 2. 1916 m. rugsėjo 11 d. - 1917 m. rugpjūčio 26 d

LTŠi knyga yra 2017 m. pasirodžiusios Aleksandro Szklenniko Pirmojo pasaulinio karo metų dienoraščio publikacijos tęsinys. Antrojoje knygoje publikuojami kiti trys (penktas-septintas) iš devynių XX a. pradžios Vilniaus visuomenės veikėjo, inžinieriaus, kooperatininko A. Szklenniko 1915-1918 m. rašyto dienoraščio sąsiuviniai. Šie trys sąsiuviniai apima 1916 m. rugsėjo 11-1917 m. rugpjūčio 26 d. laikotarpį. Tai itin dinamiškas, gal netgi lūžinis to meto visuomenės mąstysenos periodas. Vokiečių okupuojamo ir išnaudojamo anuometinio Vilniaus bei aplinkinio regiono paveikslas tekste pateikiamas itin plačiame tarptautinių procesų bei įvykių kontekste. Svarbiausi jų - 1916 m. lapkričio 5-osios aktu prasidėjęs Lenkijos valstybingumo atkūrimas ir 1917 m. vasario Rusijos revoliucija. Dienoraštyje gausu informacijos, kurios nėra ne tik kituose ano meto dienoraščiuose, bet netgi specialioje istorinėje literatūroje.

ENThe second book contains another three notebooks - the fifth, sixth, and seventh -of the prominent Vilnius public figure, engineer and member of the cooperative movement Aleksandr Szklennik's archival manuscript. Entries in the fifth notebook cover the period from 11 September 1916 to 14 December of the same year; the sixth notebook is dedicated to the period from 15 December 1916 to 21 March 1917; and the seventh notebook opens with the entry dating back to 22 March 1917 and closes with one of 26 August of the same year. From the very beginning a couple of story lines can be identified in the text of the fifth notebook which for the most part continue throughout the rest of the notebooks. Among the prevailing plot lines in the three notebooks under consideration is the situation in Vilnius and its region governed by the occupant German administration. The autumn of 1916 was for the most part the grimmest and hardest streak of the said occupation in Vilnius and the rest of the region. Already in the summer of 1916 the Germans effectively suppressed former institutions of Vilnius self-government which granted them full control of the situation. A huge tax obligation was imposed upon the city, therefore in the autumn of 1916 payment related issues overshadowed all other problems wealthy Vilnius citizens might have had and eliminated any pos-sibility of the manifestation of public spirit or any other initiative. However, the local community was still not allowed to catch its breath: in December of 1916 all local men from 17 to 60 years of age were called to undergo a mandatory medical check-up with the intention of sending those who were found fit to forced labour locally or even in Germany. The sustenance and survival related situation of Vilnius citizens was rapidly deteriorating.As an expert in economic and financial matters, A. Szklennik was continuously interested in the above issues - discussions pertaining to prices, costs, and currency exchange rates continue throughout his journal. In the winter of 1916 - 1917 the survival crisis reached a most tragic scale. Journal entries refer to haggard citizens every single day dying on the streets of hunger and cold, offer a lurid picture of beggars and starving paupers, many of whom were children. It was not until the end of April of 1917 that the severities of winter ended, but the life of Vilnius citizens did not become any easier. Bread, which was intentionally baked using flour with foreign matters, had long been subject to rationing and sold to citizens upon production of bread coupons; the allocated daily allowance of 200 grams per person was close to starvation, however, in the middle of May it was halved. And it was not until July, when a number of cheap soup kitchens was established across the city, that the situation became more or less tolerable. It should be noted that at that time A. Szklennik was acting as the head of the city's poverty alleviation department which allowed him to immediately experience the cruelties of the every-day life of the poor. In December of 1916 the aforementioned medical examination turned into a sort of a personal drama for the author of the journal - he was found fit for hard labour (the checkup was a fake) and under military supervision any time could have been sent to work. However, this did not happen; a written appeal to the occupant administration, indicating A. Szklennik's important public function performed in Vilnius, might have been of a certain help. [...].