L.L. Zamenhof
Ludwik Lejzer Zamenhof (Polish: Ludwik Łazarz Zamenhof) or simply L. L. Zamenhof (Białystok, today Poland, then Russian Empire, December 15, 1859-Warsaw, Poland, April 14, 1917) was a Polish ophthalmologist and creator of the planned auxiliary language Esperanto. He was nominated twelve times for the Nobel Peace Prize.
He received the Hebrew name Eliezer, transcribed in the documents as Lejzer, a Polonized name. Following custom, he also used a non-Jewish middle name with the same initial, Ludwik. He attended the Białystok school between 1869 and 1873, and from December 1873 to July 1879 at the German Institute in Warsaw. After two years of study at the Moscow Medical College and four at Warsaw, he received his medical degree in ophthalmology, which he completed in Vienna (1886).
His grandfather, Fabian Zamenhof, was a translator and language teacher, and his father, Mordechai Mark Zamenhof, was a teacher of German and French. The young Zamenhof had a special talent for languages; His mother tongues were Polish, Russian and Yiddish or Judeo-German, but he always considered Russian his native language (only in it and in Esperanto did he write poetry). He was also fluent in German; he subsequently he learned French, Greek, Hebrew, Volapük, Latin and English. Of Spanish, Italian and some other languages, he only had basic knowledge. This polyglotism was only a reflection of the conditions in which he lived and which could not fail to influence the thought of a sensitive young man.
In 1898 he settled permanently in Warsaw, where he practiced until his death. His medical profession brought him far more pain than good; Due to the poverty of his clients, he had to visit between thirty and forty patients daily, despite which he earned just enough to guarantee a modest living for his family.
Contact with Zionism
Like his father, the young Zamenhof initially tended to assimilate, that is, to be a Jew in a European nation. He later he wanted to become a Russian writer. However, the pogroms of 1882 drew the young student into the Zionist movement, so he founded a Zionist group in Warsaw and also wrote a grammar for Yiddish.
Around 1885 he discovered that Zionism's goal, a Jewish home in Palestine, was unrealistic: the Hebrew language was dead, Zionism misjudged national sentiment among Jews, and Palestine was too small for all of Judaism in general: A maximum of two million Jews could be housed, with the remaining masses staying outside. Instead, he saw the future of Jews rather in a world in which language, cultural, and religious barriers coalesce or are dismantled altogether. This led him to reflect on internationalist ideas.
When an Esperanto Jewish Association was founded in 1914, Zamenhof responded in the negative: every nationalism brings bad things, so it serves its unfortunates best if it strives for absolute justice between people.
Birth of Esperanto
According to his testimony, already in his childhood in the city of Białystok (which at that time was part of the Russian Empire, although it currently belongs to Poland, and where there were important communities of Poles, Jews, Russians, Germans and Lithuanians) had observed how the differences between peoples due to the diversity of languages and religions could cause serious conflicts. This motivated him to find a solution to the problem, and over the years he developed Esperanto, in a process that was long and laborious (see Protoesperanto).
He continued his efforts despite the appearance of volapük in 1879, the result of the work of the priest Johann Martin Schleyer, in the project of creating an international language. Zamenhof learned Volapük, but the shortcomings of this language further motivated him to continue with his plans. Finally, in 1887 and with the financial help of his Lithuanian father-in-law, he managed to publish a pamphlet in which he exposed the principles of the new language in the Lingvo internacia. Antaŭparolo kaj plena lernolibro (International Language. Preface and complete textbook), with the pseudonym Doktoro Esperanto (which in Spanish can be translated as Doctor Esperanzado). This word later ended up becoming the name of his linguistic creation. This publication was later called Unua Libro (First Book).
Through the five booklets that appeared in Russian, Polish, French, German and English, respectively, and signed with the pseudonym “Dr. Esperanto », he submitted his international language project to the critics of the experts, with the promise that, after a year, he would perfect it with the proposed improvements; he sent these brochures to a multitude of European magazines, gazettes, societies and newspapers. He put ads in Russian and Polish newspapers. He used, with her consent, the dowry of her wife to launch, between the years 1888-1889, a complete series of books: Dua Libro ( Second Book ); Aldono al la Dua Libro (Supplement to the second book); Neĝa blovado (Snowstorm) and Gefratoj (Brothers), translated by A. Grabowski; the translations of the Second book and the Supplement; Meza Vortaro Germana (Middle German Dictionary); Full Russian Vortaro (Complete Russian Dictionary); manuals in English and Swedish; Princino Mary (Princess Mary), translated by E. von Wahl; Adresaro (Directory); and he provided the money necessary to publish the popular works of L. Einstein and H. Phillips.
At the end of 1889, mainly due to such great publishing activity, it was completely bankrupt. From that moment on, although it continued to be the main engine of the movement until 1905, dissemination depended materially on the economic resources of the first followers.[citation required]
In 1905 the first Universal Congress of Esperanto was held in Boulogne-sur-Mer, France, which consolidated the movement, established the Declaration of Esperanto, where the movement was defined, and the Foundation of Esperanto, that is, the fundamental basis of the language, which from then on is considered the essential regulation of Esperanto.[citation required]
On the occasion of the 5th Universal Congress of Esperanto, held in the city of Barcelona in 1909, the King of Spain, Alfonso XIII, named Zamenhof Commander of the Order of Isabel la Católica.[citation required ]
Homaranism
Zamenhof was also fascinated by another idea, namely promoting not only a neutral language, but also a neutral worldview. He first published his ideas as Hillelism (1906), named after a pre-Christian Jewish scholar named Hillel, later under the Esperanto name Homaranismo. Translated, this means something like "the ideology of the members of humanity", a kind of supra-religious morality based on the absence of prejudice and the golden rule, which could be interpreted as humanism.
Homaranism was a commitment to international understanding and religious tolerance based on common principles. Therefore, people should believe in a higher being together rather than uphold their religious customs and in countries with different languages, these should all be equal official languages, with Esperanto as the bridge language.
However, the intricate details of multicultural society, which is exactly what Zamenhof's humane doctrine is about, remained unresolved. Even among Esperanto speakers, the teaching that most people perceive as general humanism and against which they have no objections in terms of content, does not play a significant role.
Honors and distinctions
In 1905 Zamenhof was awarded the Légion d'honneur for creating Esperanto, in 1910 Zamenhof was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by four members of the British Parliament, including James O'Grady, Philip Snowden and Professor Stanley Lane Poole. (Instead, the Prize was awarded to the International Peace Bureau.) On the occasion of the 5th Universal Kongreso de Esperanto in Barcelona, Zamenhof was appointed Commander of the Order of Isabel the Catholic by King Alfonso XIII of Spain.
The minor planet 1462 Zamenhof is named in his honor. It was discovered on February 6, 1938 by Yrjö Väisälä. Hundreds of streets, parks and bridges in cities around the world are also named after Zamenhof.In Lithuania, the best-known Zamenhof street is in Kaunas, where he lived and owned a house for some time. There are others in Poland, the UK, France, Hungary, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Spain (mainly in Catalonia), Italy, Israel, Belgium and Brazil. There are Zamenhof Hills in Hungary and Brazil, and a Zamenhof Island in the Danube.
In some Israeli cities, street signs identify the creator of Esperanto and give him dates of birth and death, but refer to him solely by his Jewish name Eliezer (a variant of which, El' chance, is the origin of Lazarus). Zamenhof is honored as a deity by the Japanese Oomoto religion, which encourages the use of Esperanto among his followers. Additionally, a genus of lichens has been named Zamenhofia in his honor.
Russian writer Nikolai Afrikanovich Borovko, who lived in Odessa, founded together with Vladimir Gernet a branch of the first official Esperanto society Esrero in Russia. In the years 1896-97 N.A. Borovko became its president. There is a monument to L. Zamenhof installed in Odessa in an ordinary residential courtyard. The Esperanto sculptor Nikolai Vasilyevich Blazhkov lived in this house, who in the early 1960s brought a sculptural portrait to the courtyard, because customs did not allow sending the sculpture to the Esperanto Congress in Vienna.
In Gothenburg, Sweden, a public square is called Esperantoplatsen.
In Italy, some streets are named after Esperanto, including the long Esperanto in Pisa.
In 1959, UNESCO honored Zamenhof on the occasion of his centenary. In 2015, UNESCO decided to support the celebration of the centenary of his death.
Zamenhof was nominated 12 times for the Nobel Peace Prize.
His birthday, December 15, is celebrated annually as Zamenhof Day by Esperanto users. On December 15, 2009, the green Esperanto flag was flown in Google search to commemorate Zamenhof's 150th anniversary.
The Zamenhof family house, dedicated to Ludwik Zamenhof, and the Białystok Esperanto Center are sites on the Jewish Heritage Trail in Białystok, which was opened in June 2008 by volunteers from the Białystok University Foundation.
In 1960, the Esperanto Association of Great Britain (EAB) established Esperanto summer schools in Stoke-on-Trent in the United Kingdom, which began to provide lessons and promote the language locally. There is a road named after Zamenhof in the city: Zamenhof Grove.
As Dr. Zamenhof was born on December 15, 1859, the New York Esperanto Society meets every December to celebrate Zamenhofa Tago (Zamenhof Esperanto Day).
Esperanto Avenue in Warsaw
Zamenhof Avenue in Warsaw
Zamenhof Bus Station in Warsaw
Esperanto Bus Station in Warsaw
Bus at the Esperanto bus station in Warsaw
Death
Zamenhof died in Warsaw on April 14, 1917, possibly of a heart attack, and was buried in the Jewish cemetery on Okopowa Street. The farewell speech was delivered by the chief rabbi and preacher of the Great Synagogue in Warsaw, Samuel Abraham Poznański, who said: "There will be a time when the soil and the nation of Poles will understand what fame his great fame brought him. son of God to his homeland".
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