Who Was She?

In this episode, we learn more about how and why a young Lidia became an active Esperantist and meet Martha Root, her spiritual mother who taught her the Baha’i Faith. 

TRANSCRIPT:

Welcome to Who was she? Podcast where I, Tara Jabbari share the stories of women throughout Baha’i history. This season is about the life of Lidia Zamenhof, an esperantist and Baha’i who traveled through three continents to teach languages in efforts to bring unity to humankind. 

In the previous episode, we learned about Lidia’s father, Ludwik Zamenhof and how he developed his new language, Esperanto. In this episode we will learn how Lidia became an active Esperantist and was starting to be seen as a new leader for the Esperanto movement. 

As the family continued to grieve, Klara took Ludwik’s passing the hardest.  Lidia often wrote how she witnessed her mother age suddenly. But she had a duty to be strong for her children, especially for her teenage daughter and to continue her husband’s work progressing Esperanto. 

For Lidia, when she was a girl, she actually did not like learning Esperanto. Slightly embarrassed, her parents continued to speak with her in the language but she was stubborn and independent, refusing to respond in Esperanto. However, eventually, she did see that the language was an example of bridging gaps between people and it’s significance in theirs and others lives. In later years, all of her letters were written solely in Esperanto. She witnessed how many people Bonvenigis, or welcomed a language that would striving for unity during a world war. 

By 1918, World War 1 ended and Poland became an independent nation after over 100 years. The country now found itself poor and overpopulated. the Jews suffered greatly and anti-semitic violence broke out in 130 towns and villages throughout Poland. The country found itself clashing with the Red Army and there continued to be a lot of unrest throughout the neighboring countries. 

A teenage Lidia took initiative and began translating literature into Esperanto. Lidia began her mission, she would propagate the Esperanto language in order to fulfill her father’s wishes. As she grew older, her cousins and neighbors wrote that she was of slight build, not handsome but had an “interesting face.” When it came to going to university, Lidia did not go the traditional route of medicine like her siblings. Instead, she was accepted into the University Of Warsaw with the intention of studying law, just as her mother wished. Even though she was of Jewish background and anti-Semitism was in high gear, she was able to be accepted into the Polish university where, at the time, had a strict quota of limiting how many Jews could attend university. While her mother’s wishes were fulfilled, Lidia revealed to a friend that her heart was not into the subject. She continued to work hard in school and in Esperanto while falling victim to prejudice and anger by her fellow Polish citizens for her background. 

During the Universal Congress of Esperanto in 1924, Lidia accompanied her mother who was fragile, and suffering from liver cancer. One of the speakers that year was Edmond Privat, a disciple of Ludwik. He spoke of what is needed by Esperantists today, “Our task is very clear: we must slay the dark dragon of misunderstanding among peoples, we must spread that language in which dwells the youthful spirit of the new humanity.” 

Inspired, Lidia began to take a more public role in the Esperanto movement. Soon, Esperantists learned there was another passionate Zamenhof who expressed openly and fearlessly of the need for unity. 

After World War I, the Esperanto language grew with new people learning the language everyday. In 1924, the League of Nations and the Universal Telegraph Unions unanimously recognized Esperanto as a “klara lingvo” or “clear language” for telegraphy. 

It was also the year Klara Zamenoff passed away. With the matriarch gone, Espernatists hoped another member of the Zamenhof family would  become a leader in their movement, particularly the eldest child, Adam. But Adam had other responsibilities with his own family and his growing medical practice. Zofia, was also busy pursing her career in medicine.

It would be Lidia, now 20 years old, who would carry on her father’s passion project. She no longer had her long blond hair in braids, replacing it with a short bob that was common for the time and was only 5 feet tall but the petite Lidia became more active in the Esperanto Conferences, she would be recognized for her “thoughtful blue eyes.” 

Unusual for the time, Lidia never married or had children.  It was recalled that at least six Zamenhof women did not marry at all, including Zofia, Lidia’s sister. Instead, the real expectation was to be doing some kind of work which was a service to humanity. While Zofia became a doctor, Lidia would become a teacher of the Esperanto language, traveling across oceans and influencing all that crossed her path. 

Lidia was less intrigued of home making, having never learned how to cook, was shy and could be introverted. She also had few true friends that she confided in. One Esperantist, recalled, “The young men used to say Lidia Zamenhof has only one lover, which is the Esperanto language!” 

Lidia was more interested in the life of an intellectual and believed, similarly to her father that world peace could not be accomplished until all the peoples of the world could communicate with each other. Esperanto was the ideal means for that. She also identified herself as an atheist, having witnessed and been victim to how religious persecution only tore people apart. 

But the Seventeenth Universal Congress of Esperanto held in Geneva, Switzerland would introduce Lidia to someone who would change her life forever. 

She would meet an American journalist, teacher, and Esperantist, Martha Root. They would bond over the common interest to bring peace for people through the power of language. Martha herself was  a member of the Baha’i Faith, and believed in the power of religion. This was the same faith that spoken to Ludwik Zamenhof, and the same faith whose followers were encouraged to learn Esperanto. 

This meeting united these women so closely that they referred to each other lovingly as spiritual mother and daughter. Lidia was now inspired to travel and teach Esperanto across borders and oceans. 

On the next episode, we learn more about Martha Root and her influence on Lidia. 

You can also find more information on our Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest @whowasshe podcast. And please, rate and subscribe wherever you listen to this podcast. Logo was designed by Angela Musacchio. Music was composed and performed by Sam Redd. I am your host, Tara Jabbari.