Lidja Zamenhof (1904–1942)

Lidia or Lidja Zamenhof was born to a Jewish family in Warsaw, Poland, the youngest of three daughters. Her parents were L.L. (Ludwik Lazarus) Zamenhof, the creator of Esperanto, and his wife Klara. She learned the language as a child, and by age 14 had already done translations from Polish literature. In 1925, she completed her law studies and then devoted herself to her late father's goal to spread Esperanto around the world as a universal language. In the same year, she joined the Bahá'í faith. She taught courses in various countries and wrote articles for the journals Literatura Mondo, Pola Esperantisto, La Praktiko, Heroldo de Esperanto, and Enciklopedio de Esperanto. In 1937, she went to the USA to teach Esperanto, and remained for 14 months, but had to leave when her tourist visa ran out. She returned to Poland, where she continued to teach and translate Bahá'í writings. After Nazi Germany invaded her homeland in 1939, she was forced with her family into the Warsaw Ghetto. There she tried to help others get medicine and food, and refused several offers from Polish Esperantists and Bahá’ís to help her escape to safety. In 1942, she was deported to the extermination camp at Treblinka, where she was murdered at age 38.