East West Street

01Origins: The Birth of Two Men

In the small town of Zolkiew, now part of Ukraine, two men were born who would go on to shape the world's understanding of human rights and international law. Hersch Lauterpacht and Rafael Lemkin, both born into Jewish families, would each leave an indelible mark on the world, their lives and work deeply influenced by their early experiences and the tumultuous events of the early 20th century. Hersch Lauterpacht, born in 1897, was the eldest of eight children. His father, Nathan, was a local businessman who owned a small textile shop. From an early age, Lauterpacht showed an interest in law and justice, often engaging in debates with his teachers and peers. This early passion for justice would later guide his career and his contributions to international law. In 1915, as World War I escalated, Lauterpacht was forced to leave Zolkiew. He moved to Lemberg, where he studied law at the University of Lemberg. Despite the interruptions caused by the war, he graduated in 1919. The experiences of war and the subsequent political changes in Europe deeply influenced Lauterpacht's views on international law and human rights, shaping his future work. Rafael Lemkin, born in 1900, was the second of three sons in a middle-class Jewish family. His father, Joseph, was a farmer and his mother, Bella, was a linguist and a painter. Lemkin was deeply influenced by his mother's love for languages and arts, and his father's stories about the persecution of Jews. In 1918, Lemkin left Zolkiew to study linguistics at the University of Lviv. His studies were interrupted by the Polish-Soviet War, during which he served as a translator for the Polish army. After the war, he returned to his studies and graduated in 1926. His experiences during the war and his exposure to various cultures and languages shaped his views on ethnic and cultural diversity. These experiences would lead him to develop the concept of "genocide", a term that would later be adopted by the international community to describe the systematic extermination of a racial or ethnic group. The lives of these two men, their experiences, and their contributions to international law and human rights, are deeply intertwined with the history of Zolkiew, a small town that also holds a personal connection for the author. His grandfather, Leon Buchholz, was born there in 1904. Leon's family was also Jewish, and they owned a small bakery in the town. Leon left Zolkiew in 1914, just before the outbreak of World War I, and moved to Vienna. His experiences and stories about Zolkiew and its Jewish community provided a personal perspective to the exploration of the lives of Hersch Lauterpacht and Rafael Lemkin. In conclusion, the birth and upbringing of these two men in Zolkiew, their experiences during the wars, and their subsequent contributions to international law and human rights, are a testament to the profound influence of one's origins and early experiences. Their lives and work continue to shape our understanding of justice, human rights, and the importance of protecting cultural and ethnic diversity.