The last edition of Cosmoglotta before World War II

Saturday, February 05, 2011

I just finished uploading the latest edition of Cosmoglotta, the last one to be published in 1939 and thus the edition released just before Germany invaded Poland and WWII took precedence to everything else in Europe for the next six years. The edition has nothing about the war until the very end, where it finishes up with this short statement of intent for 1940, with plans for a drastically decreased printing and hopes for a quick resolution to the war. Such hopes were unfounded though, and Cosmoglotta did not begin printing again until 1946.


COSMOGLOTTA AND THE OCCIDENTAL UNION IN 1940

The infernal war reached us in the beginning of September, just when various circumstances would have permitted us to carry out large projects that would have let us bring our movement forward with larger steps.

The current edition of Cosmoglotta, which should have appeared during the first half of September, contains completed reports on those projects (International reunion in Lausanne in 1940, SCOED, Edition with RALIN courses, Edition with Complete Grammar and Occidental Lexicon, etc.). Regrettably, all those projects have to be delayed momentarily, 1) because of the near impossibility for a large number of our co-idealists to make payments abroad; 2) due to the difficulties caused by military censorship on correspondence between many countries; 3) due to the great reduction of free time among the majority of our co-idealists, whether caused by military mobilization, or increase in personal work.

To maintain relations between all co-idealists, our intention is to continue editing Cosmoglotta during 1940 if we can receive a sufficient number of subscriptions from our co-idealists. Understandably, due to the impossibility of subscribing to our magazine in certain countries, we expect a large decrease in subscriptions. Thus we will reduce it to one 4-page magazine which will appear every trimester. If we receive sufficient money, we will publish it every two months, or eventually with 8 pages.




We have examined the possibility of continuing the edition of Cosmoglotta B, but the total lack of time impedes us in doing this work. We have thought about reducing it also to 8 or 4 pages, but that would make almost as much work as 16 pages and because of that we have abandoned that idea.

The edition of 4 printed pages offers a large advantage: it can be used as propaganda material in countries where there is still no war or where the circumstances permit.

To ensure the editing of our magazine, we will keep the price at Fr. 4 - Swiss. Each subscriber, who wishes it for propaganda, will receive 12 copies of each number if it appears 4 times in 1940 or 8 copies if it appears 6 times.

As Cosmoglotta has appeared only 9 times instead of 12 during 1939, each subscriber can ask the Institute Occidental to send the sum of Fr. 1 as compensation. Also in 1940, if circumstances impede us from printing 4 issues, we will compensate with literature the missing issues.

We remind our readers that in this difficult time, the buying of literature is a strong aid to our movement. We hope that all co-idealists who can pay those expenses will help up through that medium.

During 1940, the Occidental Union will continue its activity wherever possible and we warmly thank all members in advance who will pay their contribution.

The reelection of the Senate, which was not able to be organized during 1939, will be adjourned until after the war. In the meantime sr. A. Matejka has been selected as interim president of the Central Office.

We continue to recieve news of our main co-idealists and particularly of our dear and venerable sr. E. de Wahl, who is in good health (20 dec. 1939). He gives his best wishes to all co-idealists for 1940, which he regretfully deems a "dangerous year".

Dear co-idealists, we hope that it will be possible to maintain good relations with you during 1940 and that that year will bring us peace and tranquility which will permit us to take up again with strength the diffusion of our beautiful language.

Chapelle, 28 d.c 1939.

Fred LAGNEL, Director of the Occidental Union.

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