Die gefährliche Sprache: die Verfolgung der Esperantisten unter Hitler und Stalin

Surveys the history of the world Esperanto movement and describes in detail its persecution and suppression in Nazi Germany and in the Soviet Union. Lazarus Zamenhof, a Jew, invented and developed Esperanto as a world language under the impact of the pogroms in Russia, hoping to promote international understanding for the particular benefit of the Jews. This aspect of his ideology embarrassed other leaders of the movement, especially in France, and he was persuaded not to publicize it. Nevertheless, nationalists who attacked Esperanto sometimes called it a "Jewish language." The Nazis saw it as a tool of the Jewish-communist world conspiracy, and although the Esperanto association in Germany adopted various means to demonstrate its loyalty, including the expulsion of Jewish members in 1935, it was closed down and many Esperantists were sent to concentration camps. also discusses persecution of Esperanto in the USSR because of its international ties.