On the day of his trip he became depressed. In the morning he went to Rabbi Szmuel Mohilewer’s grave and when he returned, tears streamed down his face. Then we went to the railroad station in Chaim’s buggy. I was overcome with emotion when Chazanowicz, before the final ‘“‘All aboard,” forcefully embraced and kissed his driver, Chaim. When we arrived in Basel, we went to the hotel in which Dr. Theodor Herzl would be staying. Later we toured the streets of Basel. As we came upon the con- vention hall, we saw the blue and white Zionist flags fluttering above the hall. Chazanowicz paled. I started to remove my hat out of respect for the flags. Suddenly he poked me, yelling: ““Keep your hat on. One stands before a Jewish flag with his head covered!” Then we went into the convention hall. I said to him, “Doctor, today you will meet a great Jew in 116171." Annoyed, he shouted: ‘Litman, you are too easily impressed. Herzl is a Jew like all others.”’ I dared not speak further. In the meantime, important Zionist leaders greeted Dr. Chazanowicz warmly, as befitted a man held in such high regard. But he was not moved. We walked slowly to the railroad station to await Herzl’s arrival. All the while Chazanowicz complained: “What will I see in Herzl? Why are you dragging me here? I am not well!’ DR. M. SUDARSKI At the station we found a huge crowd of Zionists. The train arrived. Dr. Herzl got off the train and approached us. Chazanowicz squeezed my hand until it hurt. He trembled, and in a quivering voice shouted to me: “Litman! Litman! That’s him! I’ve been waiting for him all my life. That’s him, God’s chosen one. All my life I have dreamt of him. He has finally arrived!” א * * Afterward we went to a kosher restaurant in Basel. A large group of Zionists was there, staring at Chaza- nowicz. One of them suddenly said to another: “I believe that is the great Dr. Chazanowicz.’’ Then some- thing remarkable occurred. Everyone shouted over and Over again, “‘Long live the wonderful Dr. Chazano- wicz!”” Chazanowicz quickly replied, ‘““My dear Jews, be silent! Better donate books or give money to our national library in Jerusalem!”’ At that moment the door of the restaurant flung open and in came Dr. Herzl. Everyone stood up, speechless and in awe. Herzl scanned the room and, noticing Chazanowicz, hurriedly went over to him: שס1ן"‎ are you, my dear Dr. Chazanowicz?”’ The latter, all color drained from his face, extended a tremulous hand to Herzl and collapsed onto a chair. Herzl gave him a fatherly embrace and kissed his head. DR. LUDWIG ZAMENHOF AND ESPERANTO 140 Roosevelt once publicly called for the creation of an international language, spoken and understood by everyone, that would in her view help to establish a lasting peace among nations. Surely this idea was worthwhile, although not orig- inal to Mrs. Roosevelt. One must assume she knew such an international tongue already existed. It was created in 1887 by none other than a Bialystoker Jew, Dr. Lud- wig Zamenhof. This masterful language, Esperanto, designed by Zamenhof to foster international cooperation, was quickly accepted. In many parts of the world groups of Esperantists were formed. Their intention was to popu- larize the language. Naively but with complete sincerity they believed this language would bind together people all over the world, who would no longer need to feel hostile toward one another. Like Mrs. Roosevelt they had an abiding faith in the important role a universally accepted tongue would play in promoting world peace. Perhaps much of the alienation among peoples has resulted from the difficulty in communicating because so many languages exist. One nation cannot understand another. It was hoped that if they all spoke one tongue, one directly to another without the help of diplomats, 14 they would surely be able to relate better, draw closer, and not have to resort to grandiose peace conferences in order to live in harmony. It is fitting that the founder of Esperanto was a Jew from Bialystok, a place where Jews encountered many ethnic groups and languages — Polish, Russian, German, Lithuanian and White Russian as well as Yid- dish and Hebrew. This greatly affected Ludwig Zamenhof from his early youth. He was born in Bialystok in 1859 to poor Jewish parents. As a student, Zamenhof grappled with the problem of bringing nations closer together. He came upon the idea of formulating a universal language and dreamt of a world in which all nations would be treated equally. Esperanto has the advantage of a simple grammar and syntax. It is a phonetic language; every letter con- sistently has the same sound and the words are pro- nounced as they are written. In 1878, as a 19-year-old high school student, Zamenhof sat in a small room in his father’s house in Bialystok, and created a rudimentary grammar that he initially called the “‘Language of Everywhere.” This dia- lect, the existence of which was known only to several The Bialystoker Memorial Book