Esperanto USA 2024 Congress Collection

Esperanto is a constructed language that was created by L.L. (Ludwig Lazar) Zamenhof in the late 1800s. Zamenhof was born in 1859 to a Jewish family and was the oldest out of four brothers and three sisters. His family lived in Bialystok, a city in Poland that had a history of being part of Prussian and Russian territory. Several different communities resided within Bialystok, including Jewish, German, Russian, and Polish, which created a linguistic and cultural divide. This divide was one of Zamenhof's influences in the construction of the universal language, Esperanto.

Zamenhof had his first banquet to initiate the new language in 1878, though his first book titled, Unua Libro (First Book) was not published until 1887. The Unua Libro was written in Russian, Polish, German, and French and mainly discussed the language and the idea behind it. The second book titled, Dua Libro was released a year later in Esperanto. The first and second book, along with Zamenhof's promotion increased the awareness of the language. In 1888 small Esperanto groups began to form. In the 1900s Esperanto became more widespread internationally with international congresses being held in Barcelona in 1909 and Antwerp in 1911. Several organizations, like the Universal Esperanto Association, began to form and create periodicals and world offices to promote Esperanto. The language continued to flourish until the start of World War One, where priorities shifted away from the promotion of the language.

After World War One, Esperanto had a resurgence. Esperanto was proposed to the League of Nations for use as the language for international relations. Although the proposal was accepted by most, it was not passed due to one vote. It was later recommended that all members of the League of Nations include Esperanto in educational material. This promotion of the language did not last long because some countries banned or discouraged the use of the language during World War Two and the Cold War. Although Esperanto faced many challenges, it continues as a language spoken today by approximately two million people. Congresses and meetups occur in different countries to promote the use of Esperanto and to connect people with interests in Esperanto.

"Esperanto-USA, also known as the Esperanto League of North America (ELNA), was established in 1952 as a national organization dedicated to promoting the use of Esperanto in the United States. The organization emerged from a growing interest in the international language, which was created by L. L. Zamenhof in 1887 to foster easier and more equitable communication between people of different native languages."

Biography from https://www.esperanto-usa.org/en/about-us/