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Esperanto is a minor language in Bulgaria. It first arrived in Bulgaria in the late 19th-century. It was suppressed by the Nazi government in the 1940s and the Communist government in the 1950s.
By the mid-1890s, there were two recorded Esperantists in Bulgaria. This number increased to 36 Esperantists in 1899 and to 81 Esperantists in 1904. [1] In 1907, Bulgaria was the third country to develop a local Esperanto society after Germany and Russia. The group's periodical, the Bulgara Esperantisto , began print in 1919. [2] By 1928, there were 1,744 recorded Esperantists in Bulgaria. [3]
The Bulgarian Minister of Internal Affairs stated that Esperanto was a "Bolshevik language" in 1924 resulting in support for Esperanto among the Bulgarian socialist movement. [4] The Bulgarian Minister of Education banned the use and instruction of Esperanto in schools in 1928, citing its simple structure as failing to challenge students, its promotion of internationalism over nationalism, and its use among "Bolshevists and anarchists". [5] An island of the Danube was donated to the Bulgarian Esperanto community in 1934. [2] During World War II, Esperantists were persecuted in Bulgaria under the Nazi-aligned government. Esperanto journalism and radio broadcasts were shut down in 1942. [6]
When World War II ended, the Bulgarian Esperanto movement returned and aligned itself with Communism, and the Internacia Kulturo began publication in 1945. [7] The Communist government changed its stance on Esperanto in 1949, and the Esperanto community was persecuted in Bulgaria as it was in some other Communist states. [8] Esperanto journalism and radio broadcasts were again shut down in the early 1950s. [9] The government determined that Esperanto was a distraction from the construction of a socialist society, and activities related to Esperanto in Bulgaria were effectively impossible. [10]
The Bulgarian Esperanto movement was revived again in 1956 following the end of Stalinism in the Eastern Bloc, and a Bulgarian Esperanto Congress led by Ivo Borovečki was held in Sofia. [11] In the late 1950s, a Bulgarian Esperantist theater troupe was created. [2] The Nuntempa Bulgario illustrated monthly began publication in 1957. [12] The World Esperanto Congress was held in Sofia in 1963, and it was held in Varna in 1978. [13] [14]
Since Januaro 1964 Sofia University has been the host for the Literature Circle under the guidance of Assen Grigorov, a talented poetry translator and the Nuntempa Bulgario editor. [15] This activity resulted into many Bulgarian writers' masterpieces being translated into Bulgarian (Ivan Vazov and Aleko Konstantinov among others), a number of local Esperanto writers began publishing their original works in Esperanto.
Esperanto is the world's most widely spoken constructed international auxiliary language. Created by Warsaw-based ophthalmologist L. L. Zamenhof in 1887, it was intended to be a universal second language for international communication, or "the international language". Zamenhof first described the language in Dr. Esperanto's International Language, which he published under the pseudonym Doktoro Esperanto. Early adopters of the language liked the name Esperanto and soon used it to describe his language. The word esperanto translates into English as "one who hopes".
L. L. Zamenhof developed Esperanto in the 1870s and '80s. Unua Libro, the first print discussion of the language, appeared in 1887. The number of Esperanto speakers have increased gradually since then, without much support from governments and international organizations. Its use has, in some instances, been outlawed or otherwise suppressed.
The Universal Esperanto Association, also known as the World Esperanto Association, is the largest international organization of Esperanto speakers, with 5501 individual members in 121 countries and 9215 through national associations and in official relations with the United Nations. In addition to individual members, 70 national Esperanto organizations are affiliated with UEA. Its current president is the professor Duncan Charters. The magazine Esperanto is the main organ used by UEA to inform its members about everything happening in the Esperanto community.
Sennacieca Asocio Tutmonda is an independent worldwide cultural Esperanto association of a general left-wing orientation. Its headquarters are in Paris. According to Jacques Schram, chairman of the Executive Committee, the membership totalled 881 in 2003. In 2006 SAT had 724 members. In 2015-2016 there were 525.
The People's Republic of Bulgaria was the official name of Bulgaria, when it was a socialist republic from 1946 to 1990, ruled by the Bulgarian Communist Party (BCP) together with its coalition partner, the Bulgarian Agrarian People's Union. Bulgaria was closely allied with the Soviet Union during the Cold War, being part of Comecon as well as a member of the Warsaw Pact. The Bulgarian resistance movement during World War II deposed the Kingdom of Bulgaria administration in the Bulgarian coup d'état of 1944 which ended the country's alliance with the Axis powers and led to the People's Republic in 1946.
Edmond Privat was a Francophone Swiss Esperantist. A historian, university professor, author, journalist and peace activist, he was a graduate of the University of Geneva and a lecturer for the World Peace Foundation. His collective works consist of original dramas, poems, stories, textbooks and books about the Esperanto movement.
Mondpaca Esperantista Movado was an Esperanto association founded in 1953 in St. Pölten, Austria, by Rudolf Burda. Its aim was "utiligi Esperanton serve al paco kaj reciproka kompreno inter la popoloj". Its official magazine was PACO.
Lev Ivanovich Zhirkov was a Soviet and Russian philologist, specializing in Persian and Caucasian languages, and Esperantist.
The Esperanto workers movement has the goal of taking practical advantage of the international language Esperanto for advancing the goals of the labour movement, especially the fight against unrestrained capitalism. It is not only a political movement in the strict sense but also a cultural and educational one. Currently the principal Esperanto associations active in the Esperanto workers movement at the global level are the Sennacieca Asocio Tutmonda and the Internacia Komunista Esperantista Kolektivo, and in a wider sense, the Monda Asembleo Socia.
Anarchism and Esperanto are strongly linked because of their common ideals of social justice and equality. During the early Esperanto movement, anarchists enthusiastically publicized the language, and the two movements have much common history.
Helmi Dresen was an Estonian translator, poet, and Esperantist. She was the older sister of Hilda Dresen. She was shot by the Nazis.
Esperanto was variously endorsed and oppressed in the Soviet Union throughout its history. The language was permitted by the government in the 1920s, but its internationalist nature brought it under scrutiny in the 1930s and Joseph Stalin enforced measures against the Esperanto community, having Esperanto speakers imprisoned and killed as part of the Great Purge. The Esperanto community was restored in the Soviet Union following the death of Joseph Stalin in 1953, but it did not achieve its earlier prominence.
Esperanto has been used in Hungary since its construction in the late-19th century. It saw notable use through the 20th century, though it was suppressed by Nazi and Communist governments in the 1940s and 1950s.
Esperanto was constructed in Poland by L. L. Zamenhof. It maintained a notable presence in Poland until the Occupation of Poland during World War II and the subsequent Communist rule resulted in the persecution of Esperantists.
Austria has been the home of Esperanto speakers for most of the language's history. Esperantists were persecuted by the Nazis during the annexation of Austria in the 1930s. The President of Austria from 1965 to 1974, Franz Jonas, was an Esperantist. The Esperanto Museum and Collection of Planned Languages is located in Vienna.
Ernest Karlovich Drezen was a Soviet Esperantist and engineer. He was the leader of the Soviet Esperantist Union (SEU). Drezen was arrested and killed during the Great Purge in the 1930s.
Esperanto has been used in the Czech Republic since the 19th century. It was suppressed by the Nazi and Communist governments of the 20th century before being revived in 1969. The Czech Republic is home to the Esperanto Museum in Svitavy.
Esperanto has been used in Slovakia since the 19th century. The Slovak Esperanto movement was suppressed by Nazi and Communist regimes in the 20th century before being restored in 1969. Slovakia is home to the Summer Esperanto Study and the Conference on the Application of Esperanto in Science and Technology.
Esperanto is a minor language in Romania.
Albert Škarvan was an Austro-Hungarian-born Slovak physician, writer, translator, and Esperantist.
