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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.
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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.
Hungary was an early adopter of Esperanto, with some of the original Esperantists residing in Austria-Hungary in the late-19th century. [1] In 1913, it was reported that a police officer in Székesfehérvár broke up an Esperantist meeting an account of it being a "thieves' language". [2] During the brief period of the Hungarian Soviet Republic in 1919, many Esperantist groups supported the Communist government. Esperantist Rezső Rajczi was killed during the fall of the government and has been described as "the only known martyr for Esperanto in Hungary". The succeeding Kingdom of Hungary often restricted the use of Esperanto due to its associations with Communism in the country. [3]
Hungary became a notable region in the Esperanto community when the Esperanto periodical Literatura Mondo was founded in Budapest by Tivadar Soros in 1922. [4] [5] Other notable Esperantists in Hungary at this time included linguist Géza Bárczi that wrote in Esperanto and actor Julio Baghy that learned Esperanto in 1911 and became an Esperantist writer while a prisoner-of-war in Siberia during World War I. [6] [7] A schism developed between the leftist and neutral factions of Esperantists in the 1930s, with leftist Esperantists founding the Hungarian Esperanto Federation in opposition to the politically neutral Esperanto Society of Hungary. During World War II, the presence of these groups was condemned by the Nazis, as both protected Esperantist Jews. The Esperantist community was targeted by the Nazis when they gained control of Hungary. [8]
In 1948, instruction of Esperanto was permitted in public schools, and the spread of Esperanto was broadly supported by the government. [9] As the influence of Stalinism spread in eastern and central Europe, the use of Esperanto was suppressed. The Literatura Mondo was shut down in 1949, and the Esperanto Society of Hungary was shut down in 1950. [10] [11] Esperanto was restricted in Hungary both legally and socially, with Esperantists seen as opposed to the Communist Party. [12]
Following Stalin's death, a significant increase of Esperantist literature and poetry occurred in the 1950s and 1960s, including that of Hungarian poets such as Imre Baranyai and Lajos Tárkony. [13] Linguist Vilmos Benczik learned Esperanto in 1959 and helped to revive it in Hungary. [14] Sándor Szathmári contributed to Esperantist science fiction during this time. [15] New Esperanto groups also formed in Hungary. The Esperanto Council of Hungary was founded in 1955 and recognized by the Ministry of Education in 1956, while the Hungarian Esperanto Association was founded in 1960 and the Hungara Vivo began publication in 1961. [16] Bertalan Farkas became the first Esperantist to go to space in 1980.
Of the first thousand recorded Esperantists, 19 were located in Austria-Hungary. Only four Esperantists were recorded in the kingdom by the 1890s, though the number increased to 211 by 1904. By 1928, the number of Esperanto speakers in Hungary had increased to 3,052 among 47 different Esperanto groups. [1] In 1966, the World Esperanto Congress had 3,975 members in Budapest, more than most other cities surveyed. [17] In 1979, the Universal Esperanto Association had 3,237 members in Hungary. [18]
Esperanto is the world's most widely spoken constructed international auxiliary language. Created by L. L. Zamenhof in 1887, it is 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.
Kálmán Kalocsay was a Hungarian Esperantist poet, translator, and editor who significantly influenced Esperanto culture, both in its literature and in the language itself, through his original poetry and his translations of literary works from his native Hungarian and other languages of Europe. His name is sometimes Esperantized as Kolomano Kaloĉajo, and some of his work was published under various pseudonyms, including C.E.R. Bumy, Kopar, Alex Kay, K. Stelov, Malice Pik and Peter Peneter.
Max Josef Metzger was a Catholic priest and leading German pacifist who was executed by the Nazis during World War II.
La Ondo de Esperanto was an illustrated Esperanto periodical published monthly in the Russian Baltic Sea enclave of Kaliningrad. Since 2017 it is available only as an online magazine in PDF or EPUB formats.
Jenny Weleminsky was a German-speaking Esperantist and translator who was born in Thalheim, Lower Austria and brought up there and in Vienna. Some of her translations of works by Franz Grillparzer and other notable Austrian writers were published in the literary magazine Literatura Mondo , which became home to an influential group of authors collectively known as Budapeŝto skolo, the Budapest school of Esperanto literature.
Literatura Mondo was a literary Esperanto periodical and publishing house in Budapest, Hungary between 1922 and 1949. It became the focal point of the so-called Budapest School of Esperanto literature. It was founded by Tivadar Soros, father of the Hungarian-born American investor, billionaire and philanthropist George Soros.
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 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 a Slovak physician, writer, translator, and Esperantist.
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.
Ilona Koutny is a Hungarian linguist and Esperantist. She works as a professor in Poznań, Poland. In 2008, she was honoured as "Esperantist of the Year" by the magazine La Ondo de Esperanto.
