Tell Me Why
Zamenhof's Legacy
What happened to the descendants of the man who started Esperanto?
PHILLIP AND ELIZABETH
APPLEBAUM
Q: I've always been fascinated by
Esperanto, the international, artificial
language. What makes Esperanto
even more interesting is the fact that
its inventor, Dr. Ludwig Zamenhof,
was Jewish. How Jewish was Dr.
Zamenhof, and did he have a family
or any descendants? If so; are they
still promoting Esperanto?
A: Dr. Zamenhof (1859-1917) was
born into a highly assimilated Jewish
family in Bialystok, Poland (at the
rime, Lithuania). After his birth, the
Zamenhof family settled in Warsaw.
Intense anti-Semitism always
reminded Dr. Zamenhof of who he
was; in his youth, he became an
ardent Zionist. He later turned to a
liberal universalism, and in this con-
text, created Esperanto.
Although he knew Hebrew, Dr.
Zamenhof was not well schooled in
Judaism.
He proposed a new religion for Jews
that he called "Hillelism." It was to be
based solely on the Torah dictum,
"Love your neighbor as yourself"
The following people
solved the puzzle of Dec. 13
and got their solutions in
by deadline: DINA ASH-
MAN of Farmington Hills,
DOROTHY DOM-
NITCH of Berkley, MIA
GORDON of Franklin,
J.L. HELLER of Oxford,
IRENE LUSKY of West
Bloomfield, DOTTY PITT
of Southfield, LAUREL
RUZA of West Bloomfield,
BORUCH SAKS of Oak
Park, BETTY SILVER-
MAN of Farmington Hills,
MICHAEL SILVERSTEIN
of Oak Park, MORRIS
SPINNER of Northville,
BERT WEMBLER of Oak
Park.
(which Rabbi Hillel once called the
major tenet of Judaism), while all
Jewish practices and rituals were to be
regarded as traditions, but not obliga-
tory.
Dr. Zamenhof married a Jewish
woman, Klara Zilbernik, who died in
1925. They had three children: Adam,
Sofia and Lidia. Like her father, Sofia
became a physician. Lidia abandoned
the minimal Judaism of her family
and converted to the Bahal faith,
which she promoted in extensive trav-
els. Little is known about Adam.
Although Esperanto was widely
acclaimed, the Nazis regarded it as
part of a Jewish conspiracy to control
the world. After September 1939,
when Germany invaded Poland at the
start of World War II, the Nazis made
a special effort to exterminate the chil-
dren of the late Dr. and Mrs.
Zamenhof. All three of the children
resided in Warsaw (Lidia had recently
arrived, deported by the United States
over a minor infraction of her visa).
The Nazis arrested the Zamenhofs
in January 1940. Adam was shot dead
in the courtyard of Palmiry Prison.
Sofia and Lidia were sent to the
Treblinka German killing center in
The World Of Paul Ehrlich puzzle
solution from Dec. 13.
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+ +DOOLBET I HWD++
+ +B++B+M++++E++
YE+ ++E+0++++R++
LG+++R+T++++N+D
+ +0++ LGH+ ++ +A I+
+ ++ L+ I +E++++P++
+ +++ON+RR++HY++
+ ++++ I +A+MT+R++
+ +++++SP+HA+T++
I MMUN I TYE++N+++
+ ++++++RH++++++
+ +++++ I ++P+++++
+ ++++A+++++++++
Poland, where they perished in 1942.
As far as is known, none of the three
was married, or if they were, none had
children.
Members of the extended Zamenhof
family (Ludwig was one of eight chil-
dren), however, left Europe before the
war and some settled in North
America.
Chancellor of the Exchequer. The
couple had four children, the second
of whom was named Nigella — after
her father, of course.
While the family never did anything
— anything — Jewish, Lawson did
indeed marry a Jew, John Diamond, a
man from a very different (very liber-
al) background. It was he who made
her a star.
Q: I've been able to
Together, the two
catch a couple episodes
hosted popular
of the cooking show
Christmas and (much
Nigella Bites, and I often
to her family's surprise)
see Nigella Lawson
Passover dinners and
preparing Jewish foods.
promoted Nigella
Did she learn all this
Lawson as the .
from her late husband
"Domestic Goddess."
(whom I know was
Lawson, a mother of
Jewish), John Diamond?
two, has experienced
A: Nigella Lawson is
many tragedies inoher
herself Jewish.
life: Her husband,
Lawson, 42, has for
mother and sister all
years been a popular fig-
died of cancer.
Nigella Laws on
ure in her native
Recently, however,
England, where she was born to a
the cooking star has been linked with
Jewish, but highly assimilated family.
art mogul Charles Saatchi. He was
Her mother is the late Vanessa
born in Baghdad and at 19 came to
Salmon, heir to a grocery-store chain.
the United States, where he made his
Her father is Nigel Lawson (today,
fortune in advertising. Like Lawson,
Lord Lawson), a Tory and former
Saatchi also is Jewish. ❑
The Big
Question:
In "Small Bites" you learned about a new
comic book called Mendy and the Golem.
In what city was the Golem said to have
been created?
(Bonus: What was the name of the syna-
gogue where some believe he still resides?)
If you have the answer to this week's
Big Question, write it down and get
it to us NO LATER than 5 p.m.
Thursday, Jan. 2. Please include
your name and city of residence and
we'll include it in a future issue of
the paper.
Be sure to write: ANSWER TO
THE BIG QUESTION on all cor-
respondence sent in one of three
ways. Fax: (248) 539-3075; snail
mail: Answer to the Big Question,
AppleTree, do The Jewish News,
30301 Northwestern Highway,
Suite 200, Farmington Hills, MI
48334; or e-mail:
paijoey@earthlink.net
Congratulations to RYAN KLEIN of West Bloomfield and PEGGY LETVIN of
Oak Park who correctly answered The Big Question from Dec. 6: "What does
the word `.Maccabee' mean?" (Hammer).
2002
51