arrived again. And here was the question to decide whether we should go with the Poles or stay in Russia. And my father decided to stay in Russia because being a liberal he had an impression that they have changed.

Mr. Jenner.

That the Russians had changed?
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. Yes; he heard from somebody that they have become liberal. He stayed in Minsk, and because he stayed he got some kind of an appointment in the Soviet Government. I don't remember which one it was. I guess in the Department of Agriculture, because he was interested in division of big estates. That was his idea--what was going on in Russia was opposed by the huge estates. We had one, also, but not as big. So he was always in favor of the division of the big estates, breaking them up into smaller farms. And he had this appointment, adviser to the Minister of Agriculture I don't remember what it was exactly. And we lived more or less happily for a certain number of months-- although there was a famine there.

Mr. Jenner.

Now, you are still in Minsk?
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. Still in Minsk; yes--in probably 1920. And then one day they arrested him again. And here is what happened. I will show you what kind of a person he was. At the time they were installing museums in churches. And my father objected to that.

Mr. Jenner.

Your father was a religious man, was he?
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. No; he was not religious. But he objected by principle to that. He was not very religious at all. But he objected to the intervention into other people's faith. We never had too much religion in the family. And he was put in jail. And started criticizing the Soviet Government. And, finally--I remember this more distinctly--because he was finally sentenced to life exile to Siberia. And that I will never forget about my father--an interesting thing.

Mr. Jenner.

He was banished to Siberia by the Russians?
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. Yes.

Mr. Jenner.

These are the Bolsheviks who had conducted the revolution. This was a revolutionary period?
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. That is right. This is 1921 by now.

Mr. Jenner.

You are now 10 years old?
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. I remained on the street making my own living somehow. My mother runs around the country trying to save my father. He is in jail for the second time, and finally he gets sentenced to life imprisonment in a town called Vieliki Ustug in Siberia. This is as far as I remember the name of it.
And why was he sentenced for that--because at the hearing, whatever they called the court, they asked him, "What kind of government do you suggest for Soviet Russia?" And he said, fool as he was, "Constitutional monarchy," and that was it. That was his sentence just because of that. Because, actually, they didn't have anything against him. My father was a liberal and never hurt anybody. He became very sick in jail. And these friends--the friends whom he had helped previously----

Mr. Jenner.

You mean true friends?
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. That is right. In this particular case I don't remember their names. They were a couple of Jewish doctors who advised my father to eat as little as possible, any way to appear very sick, and finally--they themselves were his doctors. They finally made the position with the Soviet Government that he was going to die, he was not going to survive the trip to Siberia, because he was going to be sent directly to Siberia, with the family, with all of us. And that he should be released to stay home, and just appear once--a couple of times a week to show he is there, until his health condition improved, and he was able to be sent to Siberia.
And they did. that, surprisingly, and they released him. And that is where he made his preparations for escape. And the same people helped him to get some transportation, a hay wagon, and we crossed the border, in a very long and tedious way. But we crossed the border of Poland.

Mr. Jenner.

You crossed the border into Poland, and he settled where?
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. In a town called Wilno.

Mr. Jenner.

That was yourself, your mother, and your father?

« Previous | Next »

Found a Typo?

Click here

Last Update: Wed, 3 Aug 2016 21:56:34 CET