Lidia Zamenhof ( eo, Lidja Zamenhofo; 29 January 1904–1942) was a Polish 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 Esperanto ( or ) is the world's most widely spoken constructed international auxiliary language. Created by the Warsaw-based ophthalmologist L. L. Zamenhof in 1887, it was intended to be a universal second language for international communi ...

. She was an active promoter of Esperanto as well as of

Homaranismo Homaranismo ( en, Humanitism) is a philosophy developed by L. L. Zamenhof, who laid the foundations of the Esperanto language. Based largely on the teachings of Hillel the Elder, Zamenhof originally called it ''Hillelism''. He sought to reform Ju ...

, a form of religious humanism first defined by her father. Around 1925 she became a member of the Baháʼí Faith. In late 1937 she went to the United States 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 during the Holocaust.

Life

Lidia Zamenhof learned Esperanto as a nine-year-old girl. By the age of fourteen she translated from Polish literature; her first publications appeared several years thereafter. Having completed her university studies in law in 1925, she dedicated herself totally to working for Esperanto. In the same year during the 17th

World Congress of Esperanto The World Esperanto Congress ( eo, Universala Kongreso de Esperanto, UK) is an annual Esperanto convention. It has the longest tradition among international Esperanto conventions, with an almost unbroken run for 113 years. The congresses have be ...

in 1925 in Geneva she became acquainted with the Baháʼí Faith. Lidia Zamenhof became secretary of the homaranistic Esperanto-Society Concord in Warsaw and often made arrangements for speakers and courses. Starting at the Vienna 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 Andreo Cseh (born András Cseh; 12 September 1895, in Marosludas, Hungary – 9 March 1979, in the Hague, Netherlands) was a Hungarian/Dutch Roman Catholic priest and Esperantist known for inventing the Cseh method of Esperanto instruction. Bi ...

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 UEA, in the Cseh Institute, and in the Baháʼí Faith. Additionally, Lidia wrote for the journal '' Literatura Mondo'' (mainly studies on Polish Literature), and also contributed to ''

Pola Esperantisto Pola or POLA may refer to: People *House of Pola, an Italian noble family *Pola Alonso (1923–2004), Argentine actress *Pola Brändle (born 1980), German artist and photographer *Pola Gauguin (1883–1961), Danish painter *Pola Gojawiczyńska (18 ...

'', ''

La Praktiko LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figure ...

'', '' Heroldo de Esperanto'', and '' Enciklopedio de Esperanto''. 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 Pet ...

'' by

Henryk Sienkiewicz Henryk Adam Aleksander Pius Sienkiewicz ( , ; 5 May 1846 – 15 November 1916), also known by the pseudonym Litwos (), was a Polish writer, novelist, journalist and Nobel Prize laureate. He is best remembered for his historical novels, especi ...

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. 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, 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 in the course of the Grossaktion Warsaw. 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 in Washington, D.C. The meeting called attention to Esperantists' efforts to save persecuted Jews during World War II.

Esperanto works

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

Notes

References

* In English: Wendy Heller, ''Lidia: The Life of Lidia Zamenhof, Daughter of Esperanto''. * In

: Wendy Heller, ''Lidia: La vivo de Lidia Zamenhof, filino de Esperanto'' () * In

: 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 Warsaw Ghetto.

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