Lidia Zamenhof ( eo, Lidja Zamenhofo; 29 January 1904–1942) was a

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...

writer, publisher, translator and the youngest daughter of Klara (Silbernik) and

L. L. Zamenhof L. L. Zamenhof (15 December 185914 April 1917) was an ophthalmologist who lived for most of his life in Warsaw. He is best known as the creator of Esperanto, the most widely used constructed international auxiliary language. Zamenhof first dev ...

, the creator of Esperanto. She was an active promoter of Esperanto as well as of Homaranismo, a form of religious humanism first defined by her father. Around 1925 she became a member of the

Baháʼí Faith The Baháʼí Faith is a religion founded in the 19th century that teaches the essential worth of all religions and the unity of all people. Established by Baháʼu'lláh in the 19th century, it initially developed in Iran and parts of the ...

. In late 1937 she went to the

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to teach that religion as well as Esperanto. In December 1938 she returned to Poland, where she continued to teach and translated many Baháʼí writings. ֿShe was murdered at the

Treblinka extermination camp Treblinka () was an extermination camp, built and operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland during World War II. It was in a forest north-east of Warsaw, south of the village of Treblinka in what is now the Masovian Voivodeship. The camp ...

during

the Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...

Life

Lidia Zamenhof learned Esperanto as a nine-year-old girl. By the age of fourteen she translated from

Polish literature Polish literature is the literary tradition of Poland. Most Polish literature has been written in the Polish language, though other languages used in Poland over the centuries have also contributed to Polish literary traditions, including Latin, ...

; her first publications appeared several years thereafter. Having completed her university studies in

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in 1925, she dedicated herself totally to working for Esperanto. In the same year during the 17th World Congress of Esperanto in 1925 in

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she became acquainted with the

. Lidia Zamenhof became secretary of the homaranistic Esperanto-Society Concord in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

and often made arrangements for speakers and courses. Starting at the

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World Congress of Esperanto in 1924 she attended almost every World Congress (she missed the 1938 Universala Kongreso in England). As an instructor of the Cseh method of teaching Esperanto she made many promotional trips and taught many courses in various countries. She actively coordinated her work with the student Esperanto movement — in the International Student League, in the

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, in the Cseh Institute, and in the Baháʼí Faith. Additionally, Lidia wrote for the journal ''

Literatura Mondo ''Literatura Mondo'' (''Literary World'') was a literary Esperanto periodical and publishing house in Budapest, Hungary between 1922 and 1949. It became the focal point of the so-called Budapest School of Esperanto literature. It was founded by T ...

'' (mainly studies on Polish Literature), and also contributed to '' Pola Esperantisto'', '' La Praktiko'', ''

Heroldo de Esperanto ''Heroldo de Esperanto'' ( en, Esperanto Herald, italic=yes) is a magazine published in Esperanto. It was founded in 1920 by Teo Jung in Cologne under the name of ''Esperanto triumfonta'' and was edited by Jung from 1920 to 1961. In the years befo ...

'', and ''

Enciklopedio de Esperanto {{Esperanto sidebar , expanded=Services Encyclopedias in Esperanto ( eo, Enciklopedioj de Esperanto) are Esperanto-language encyclopedias. There have been several different attempts of creating an encyclopedia of all Esperanto topics. History I ...

''. Her translation of ''

Quo Vadis ''Quō vādis?'' (, ) is a Latin phrase meaning "Where are you marching?". It is also commonly translated as "Where are you going?" or, poetically, "Whither goest thou?" The phrase originates from the Christian tradition regarding Saint Pete ...

'' by Henryk Sienkiewicz was published in 1933 and is very well known. In 1937 she went to the United States for a long stay. In December 1938 she had to leave the United States because that country's Immigration Service declined to extend her tourist visitor's visa because of her allegedly illegal "paid labor" of teaching Esperanto. She refused offers of marriage that could have permitted her to remain or eventually to naturalize. After returning to Poland, her homeland, she travelled around the country teaching Esperanto and the Baháʼí Faith. Under the German occupation regime of 1939, her home in Warsaw became part of the

Warsaw Ghetto The Warsaw Ghetto (german: Warschauer Ghetto, officially , "Jewish Residential District in Warsaw"; pl, getto warszawskie) was the largest of the Nazi ghettos during World War II and the Holocaust. It was established in November 1940 by the G ...

. She was arrested under the charge of having gone to the United States to spread anti-Nazi propaganda, but after a few months, she was released and returned to her home city where she and the rest of her family remained confined. There she endeavored to help others get medicine and food. She was offered help and escape several times by Polish Esperantists but refused in each case. To one

Pole Pole may refer to: Astronomy *Celestial pole, the projection of the planet Earth's axis of rotation onto the celestial sphere; also applies to the axis of rotation of other planets *Pole star, a visible star that is approximately aligned with the ...

, well-known Esperantist Józef Arszennik, who had offered her refuge on several occasions, she explained, "you and your family could lose your lives, because whoever hides a Jew perishes along with the Jew who is discovered." To another, her explanation was contained in her last known letter: "Do not think of putting yourself in danger; I know that I must die but I feel it is my duty to stay with my people. God grant that out of our sufferings a better world may emerge. I believe in God. I am a Baháʼí and will die a Baháʼí. Everything is in His hands." Eventually in the end she was swept up in the mass transport heading to the extermination camp in

Treblinka Treblinka () was an extermination camp, built and operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland during World War II. It was in a forest north-east of Warsaw, south of the village of Treblinka in what is now the Masovian Voivodeship. The cam ...

in the course of the

Grossaktion Warsaw The ''Grossaktion'' Warsaw ("Great Action") was the Nazi code name for the deportation and mass murder of Jews from the Warsaw Ghetto during the summer of 1942, beginning on 22 July. During the ''Grossaktion'', Jews were terrorized in daily rou ...

. She was killed there sometime after the summer of 1942.

Memorial

In her memory and honor, a meeting was held in 1995 at the

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) is the United States' official memorial to the Holocaust. Adjacent to the National Mall in Washington, D.C., the USHMM provides for the documentation, study, and interpretation of Holocaust hi ...

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The meeting called attention to Esperantists' efforts to save persecuted Jews during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

Esperanto works

*Lidia Zamenhof (1931), ''Homo, Dio, Profeto'' (Man, God, Prophet)

Notes

References

* In

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: Wendy Heller, ''Lidia: The Life of Lidia Zamenhof, Daughter of Esperanto''. * In Esperanto: Wendy Heller, ''Lidia: La vivo de Lidia Zamenhof, filino de Esperanto'' () * In Esperanto: Isaj Dratwer, ''Lidia Zamenhof. Vivo kaj agado'' * An extensive chapter on Lidia Zamenhof in ''La familio Zamenhof'', by Zofia Banet-Fornalowa. * Information about Lidia Zamenhof may be found in publications of the Baháʼí Esperanto movement and in other articles. * As of August 2006, most of this article is a translation of the corresponding Esperanto Vikipedio article.

Drama

The documentary drama ''Ni vivos!'' (''We will live!'') by Julian Modest depicts the Zamenhof family's fate in the

External links

* * (in English
John Dale - Notes on the life of Lidia Zamenhof
* (in Esperanto

''Translations of several important Baháʼí writings in Esperanto.'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Zamenhof, Lidia 1904 births 1942 deaths 20th-century Bahá'ís 20th-century translators 20th-century women writers Jewish Polish writers Converts to the Bahá'í Faith from Judaism Linguists from Poland Women linguists Polish Bahá'ís Polish civilians killed in World War II Polish Esperantists People killed by gas chamber by Nazi Germany Polish people who died in Treblinka extermination camp Translators to Esperanto Warsaw Ghetto inmates Women religious writers Writers from Warsaw People from Warsaw Governorate Writers of Esperanto literature 20th-century linguists