Adolfas Šapoka (13 February 1906 – 9 March 1961) was a prominent Lithuanian medieval historian. He attended lectures at both

Prague University Charles University (CUNI; , UK; ; ), or historically as the University of Prague (), is the largest university in the Czech Republic. It is one of the oldest universities in the world in continuous operation, the oldest university north of the ...

and

Stockholm University Stockholm University (SU) () is a public university, public research university in Stockholm, Sweden, founded as a college in 1878, with university status since 1960. With over 33,000 students at four different faculties: law, humanities, social ...

before becoming a prominent lecturer himself at the Vytautas Magnus and

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...

universities. Šapoka contributed to the development of the ''

Visuotinė lietuvių enciklopedija The ''Visuotinė lietuvių enciklopedija'' or VLE () is a 25-volume universal Lithuanian-language encyclopedia published by the Science and Encyclopaedia Publishing Institute from 2001 to 2014. VLE is the first published universal encyclopedia i ...

'' as well as medieval historiography in interwar Lithuania. In 1944 he and his family moved to Germany and in 1946 moved again to Canada, where he died. Šapoka's most widely known contribution is ''"Lietuvos istorija"'', a study of Lithuania's history from the Baltic Tribes period up to his present-day.

Biography

Early life

Adolfas Šapoka was born on 13 February 1906 in the village of to Juozapas Šapoka and Konstancija Mikulėnaitė. He attended school in

Utena Utena () is a city in north-east Lithuania. It is the administrative center of Utena district and Utena County. Utena is one of the oldest settlements of Lithuania. The name of the city is most probably derived from a hydronym. The name of the ...

. In 1925 he finished the

Panevėžys Panevėžys () is the fifth-largest List of cities in Lithuania, city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, eighth-most-populous city in the Baltic States. it occupies with 89,100 inhabitants. As defined by Eu ...

gymnasium and entered

Vytautas Magnus University Vytautas Magnus University (VMU) (, VDU) is a public university in Kaunas, Lithuania. The university was founded in 1922 during the interwar period as an alternate national university. Initially it was known as the University of Lithuania, but ...

. He studied with historians ,

Ignas Jonynas Ignas Jonynas (January 24, 1884 – July 14, 1954) was a Lithuanian diplomat, historian, and university professor. As a diplomat he is known for negotiations with the Second Polish Republic and League of Nations regarding Vilnius Region. As a his ...

, , and . In 1929 he graduated from the Faculty of Humanitarian Sciences. In 1930 he completed military service and was granted the rank of junior lieutenant.

Activity abroad and in Lithuania

From 1930 to 1931 Šapoka studied at

Charles University Charles University (CUNI; , UK; ; ), or historically as the University of Prague (), is the largest university in the Czech Republic. It is one of the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest universities in the world in conti ...

in Prague. In 1933 he traveled to

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

and attended special courses for foreign historians, as well as collected documents from archives. From 1932 Šapoka was a lecturer at the Vytautas Magnus University. From 1934 he participated in the Lithuanian historical society. In 1936 he and other historians published ''"Lietuvos istorija"'' (History of Lithuania). Šapoka also edited a publication on Jogaila, and also published articles in the newspapers ''Praeitis'', ''Senovė'', ''Vairas'', and ''Židinys''. Šapoka's thesis on Lithuania and Poland after the

Union of Lublin The Union of Lublin (; ) was signed on 1 July 1569 in Lublin, Poland, and created a single state, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, one of the largest countries in Europe at the time. It replaced the personal union of the Crown of the Kingd ...

earned him a doctorate in 1938. His

habilitation thesis Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in Germany, France, Italy, Poland and some other European and non-English-speaking countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excellen ...

on the Treaty of Kėdainiai and Swedes in Lithuania in 1655–1656 made Šapoka a

docent The term "docent" is derived from the Latin word , which is the third-person plural present active indicative of ('to teach, to lecture'). Becoming a docent is often referred to as habilitation or doctor of science and is an academic qualifi ...

Immigration and final years

In 1940 the faculty of history was moved to

. Šapoka was preparing to go there, however he was removed from Vytautas Magnus University by Soviet authorities. From 1940 to 1941 he participated in the editing of the ''

'' and lectured on history in the

Kaunas Kaunas (; ) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius, the fourth largest List of cities in the Baltic states by population, city in the Baltic States and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaun ...

higher technic school. During

German occupation German-occupied Europe, or Nazi-occupied Europe, refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly militarily occupied and civil-occupied, including puppet states, by the (armed forces) and the government of Nazi Germany at ...

from 1941 to 1943 Šapoka was a docent in

Vilnius University Vilnius University ( Lithuanian: ''Vilniaus universitetas'') is a public research university, which is the first and largest university in Lithuania, as well as one of the oldest and most prominent higher education institutions in Central and Ea ...

. In 1944 Šapoka and his family moved to Germany. He lectured on history in a Lithuanian gymnasium and Lithuanian technic school. In 1948 Šapoka immigrated to Canada. From 1941 to 1961 he edited the

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

newspaper ''Tėviškės žiburiai''. In 1950 Šapoka re-released ''"Lietuvos istorija"'' in Germany. He contributed to the making of a Lithuanian encyclopedia in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

. Šapoka was a council member of the Lithuanian-Canadians Society. Adolfas Šapoka died on 9 March 1961 in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, Canada. He was buried in

Park Lawn Cemetery Park Lawn Cemetery is a large cemetery in the Etobicoke district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It currently has around 22,000 graves. It is managed by the Park Lawn Limited Partnership, which also runs five other cemeteries in Toronto. The cemetery ...

Historical work and publications

Šapoka was known for logical intellect and analytical thinking. ''"Lietuvos istorija"'' was a successful and prominent contemporary publication with record-hitting sales, being used as a study guide for future academics. It garnered much attention from the public, with a record of 17,500 sales. The publication remained an important work for those studying the history of Lithuania for several decades to come. It was re-released in 1989 and sold over 100,000 copies and 155,000 copies in 1990. Šapoka is also known for his publications on Lithuanian medieval history. It was colloquially known as ''"Šapokos istorija"'' (Šapokas's History).

References

External links

''"Lietuvos istorija"''
by Adolfas Šapoka, 1932, Kaunas {{DEFAULTSORT:Sapoka, Adolfas 1906 births 1961 deaths 20th-century Lithuanian historians Lithuanian expatriates in Canada 20th-century Lithuanian educators People from Vilna Governorate 20th-century historians Burials at Park Lawn Cemetery