Adam Zamenhof was a Polish

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

  physician known for his work on ophthalmology

Ophthalmology

Ophthalmology is the branch of medicine that deals with the anatomy, physiology and diseases of the eye. An ophthalmologist is a specialist in medical and surgical eye problems...

 and was the son of Ludwik Zamenhof, the inventor of Esperanto

Esperanto

is the most widely spoken constructed international auxiliary language. Its name derives from Doktoro Esperanto , the pseudonym under which L. L. Zamenhof published the first book detailing Esperanto, the Unua Libro, in 1887...

. During World War II, 6 September 1939, he was head of the Starozakonnych Hospital in Warsaw

Warsaw

Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...

, and its director. On 1 October 1939 Zamenhof was arrested and sent to the camp in Palmiry

Palmiry

Palmiry During World War II, between 1939 and 1943, the village and the surrounding forest was one of the sites of German mass executions of Jews, Polish intelligentsia, politicians and athletes, killed during the AB Action. Most of the victims were first arrested and tortured in the Pawiak prison...

, where he was shot.

Adam and his wife Wanda were the parents of Ludvik Zamenhof

Louis-Christophe Zaleski-Zamenhof

Louis-Christophe Zaleski-Zamenhof is a civil and marine engineer, specializing in the design of structural steel and concrete construction. He is a grandson of L. L. Zamenhof, the originator of the international auxiliary language Esperanto...

.