'And there can be another explanation of that dream. We are all like plants. Sometimes we have brilliant colors, but often we are only weeds of vanity and ambition. For the moment, perhaps, we can be proud; but woe to us when the gardener comes, for he will tear us from the earth and throw us where there is not the aroma of roses but the odor of putrefaction . . .
'And if some of you wish to consider that green garden the arena of the Esperanto world, consider also how orderly we keep it, so that he who founded it will be content, and so that it may flower for the eternal blessing of mankind.'
EIGHTEEN
A Chord Played
The vvinter of 1935-36 found Lidia once more in northern France. She gave three courses in Le Havre and Sanvic, Normandy, to more than 250 people- the neutral and workers' groups cooperating to bring her there. So favorably did the city government of Le Havre regard the courses that it gave a grant of 1,000 francs so that they could take place, and the Chamber of Commerce donated 450 francs. In Sanvic, following the course, her pupils formed an Esperanto club called the 'Lidia Zamenhof Group'.
In February a reporter from Le Petit Havre interviewed Lidia. 'A small woman, petite, with blond plastered-down hair, nordic, receives us in the modest guesthouse on the Boulevard Frangois I,' wrote the reporter. 'In a clear and joyous voice she welcomes us at the threshold, uttering a phrase which I don't understand but to which I all the same respond as best I can.' The reporter asked Lidia if she thought Esperanto had made much progress in France.
'I am profoundly convinced ofit,' Lidia answered. 'In the cities I have visited, and notably in Lyon and Toulon, Esperanto has gained a multitude of adherents. But it is certain that France is not in the first rank of Esperantist nations and that the efforts of countries like Holland, Sweden, or even all the way over in Japan are much more sustained than in France. That is, moreover, why I have come to your country.'
The reporter asked her how she thought an international language might bring about peace.
'We are not naive!' exclaimed Lidia. 'We know very well that Esperanto will change neither the face of the world nor the feelings of men, but we believe that an international language will contribute powerfully to a better understanding among people, and we also know that without understanding there cannot be love.'
The reporter concluded the article: '"Forcefully, courageously, elegantly!" Thus Mademoiselle Lidia Zamenhof begins all her classes. And this is how she goes gradually to victory, with so much energy, so much courage, and so much elegance that she is certain to reach one fine day the goal she so passionately seeks to achieve.'
Over a hundred people attended Lidia's good-bye party in Le Havre in March and she set off for Moulins, where the introductory lesson drew more than 180 to the course. Her course in Moulins proved that Esperanto 'brought together the hearts': three couples who met there eventually married.
In the spring, she was invited to return to the cities of Thiers and Romans to give courses. Paule Raynaud Delafouilhouze, who attended the class in Thiers, recalled how Lidia taught with gestures, mime and acting. Mrs Raynaud, a new teacher herself, said she often thought of Lidia in later years when, in her own classes, she was inspired by Lidia's method of teaching, so *lively and liked by the pupils'. She long remembered Lidia in a certain green coat. 'Green, the Esperanto color,' she recalled, 'suited her well.'
The prediction Leo Belmont had made at Ludwik ZamenhoPs funeral, that in every city monuments would be raised in his honor, seemed to be beginning to come true. Over the years, through the efforts of Esperantists, in various countries monuments and plaques had been dedicated, and streets and squares in many cities had been named for Ludwik Zamenhof. By 1935 there were some forty Zamenhof Streets including the street in thejewish quarter of Warsaw where the Zamenhofs had once lived - Dzika. Lidia's visible presence in France had led to several new Zamenhof Streets in that country. When she could, she would attend the dedication as the guest ofhonor, speak a few words about her father to the crowd and cut the ribbon or unveil the stone, as the occasion required.
The city of Thiers had decided to name one of its streets in honor of Zamenhof, and Lidia was to attend the inauguration. Despite the rainy day, the town dignitaries were out in force, and Esperanto flags decorated the streets. Once again the Esperantists had outdone themselves. It was reported that three thousand attended, including two bands and a ballet troupe. Lidia spoke a few words to the crowd, a sea of umbrellas, under a great sign that proclaimed 'Honor to Zamenhof, Creator of Esperanto'. Within a period ofeight days, three towns in France had dedicated Zamenhof Streets.
Naming Zamenhof Streets was all very well, but it did not have much effect on the deteriorating world situation. Twenty-two years had passed since the shots fired in Sarajevo had ignited the Great War, and Europe seemed headed for catastrophe once again. On July 11, the eve of the anniversary of the Battle of Verdun, as thousands gathered on the site of the battlefield, Lidia gave a moving speech over the radio about that event. She urged the audience to swear to guard the peace. 'Let us learn the lesson of the days past,' she said, 'and let us swear that those days shall never return.'
In 1936 once again the Universal Congress of Esperanto took place in a country where Nazi influence was strong - in Vienna, Austria. In spite of that, Lidia attended, as did Zofia and Adam along with his family. Austria itself was still free, though not for long. On her way to the congress, Lidia passed through Geneva, visiting for two days at the International Baha'i Bureau.
The Esperanto congress was held in the Hofburg, the former imperial palace. There were the usual get-acquainted evening, opening ceremony, religious services, working sessions, section meetings, theatre, ball andexcursions. AttheballintheHofburg, twouniformed Austrian police orchestras played Vitftinese waltzes and modern dance tunes while couples in their native costumes danced till two.
Bŭt the feeling at the congress was different this year. The opening ceremony, one reporter noted, 'left no profound impression, in spite ofall the pomp. It lacked soul, it lacked spirit, it lacked enthusiasm.' At other congresses the opening had been an occasion for inspiring oratory on Esperantism, stimulating the audience to go forward to carry out its high ideals. This time it was about excursions to the Schonbrunn and the Danube.
A shadow cast its chill over the congress. Many were thinking about what had happened just the month before, across the border in Germany.
The attempts of the German Esperanto Association to accommodate itself to the National Socialist regime had failed. Nazi party members had taken over the organization, expelling all itsJewish members. A new society had been formed called the Neue Deutsche Esperanto-Bewegung (New German Esperanto Movement) which was completely pro-Nazi. But even this organization found it could not hold the allegiance of the Esperantists and at the same time convince the German government of Esperanto's usefulness.
The first blow had been struck in May 1935 when the German Minister ofEducation, Bernhard Rust, ordered educational authorities in Germany to cease all support for the Esperanto movement, issuing a statement that 'In the National Socialist state, there is no place for the growth of an artificial world auxiliary language, such as Esperanto. Its use weakens the essential values of the national character . . .' This decree nullified one of 1924 which had recommended the instruction of Esperanto in Germany. The Nazi leaders were unconvinced by arguments that, since Esperanto was neutral, it could serve the new Germany.. Officials hotly asserted that the only suitable world language was German. Still the Esperantists persisted, confident that Esperanto would never be forbidden in Germany. Unknown to them, the leaders of the SS were already taking measures to stamp out the movement.