Ludwik Lejzer Zamenhof (1859 – 1917) was an ophthalmologist born in Bialystok, even though he lived for most of his life in Warsaw. He created Esperanto, the most famous international artificial language. He wrote:

“The city where I was born determined my entire future. […] I was brought up to be an idealist. I was taught that all men are brothers. But in every inner courtyard, with every step I took, I sensed that these were not brothers whom I saw, but Russians, Poles, Germans, Jews and so on. This backwards thinking made such an impression on my child soul […]. Back then, it seemed to me that adults could do as they pleased, and I kept on repeating to myself that I alone, once I was older, could change that.” (source)

The city had several synagogues. Now I could find only one of them. And the plaque after the Great synagogue, on a building with “Solidarity” offices inside. The knesset itself was burnt down, with thousands of people inside, in 1941.

And a few general pictures, of a city looking good in a sunset.