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Warren Commission Hearings: Vol. IX - Page 226« Previous | Next »

(Testimony of George S. De Mohrenschildt Resumed)

Mr. Jenner.
Now we are interested in a couple of things. You found that she knew substantially no English?
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. No English at all at that time. I think she knew maybe I remember that I asked her, "How do you buy things ill the store," and she said, "I point with my finger and I can say 'yes' and 'no'." That is all.
Mr. Jenner.
Did you go into the home---was it a house or apartment?
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. It was a shack, near Sears Roebuck, as far as I remember--near that area. I don't know if you went down there. A little shack, which had only two rooms, sort of clapboard-type building. Very poorly furnished, decrepit, on a dusty road. The road even was not paved.
Mr. Jenner.
What did you talk to her about?
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. Just asked her how she likes it here, and how she was getting along, does she get enough food, something like that--completely meaningless conversation.
And I think Lawrence was there, you know, but he did not understand what I was saying. He doesn't know Russian.
Mr. Jenner.
Did you ask about her husband?
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. I said, "Well, I would like to meet your husband." She said he should be back from work soon. She asked me to sit down, offered me something to drink, I think--she had some sherry or something in the house. This is the best of my recollection.
And Lawrence sat down, and found her very nice. And then after a little while, Oswald, Lee appeared.
Mr. Jenner.
You say Lee appeared?
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. Yes, Lee appeared.
Mr. Jenner.
Lee appeared. You had never seen him before?
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. Never seen him before.
Mr. Jenner.
And he came in?
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. He came in.
Mr. Jenner.
What happened, and what was said?
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. Well, he loved to speak Russian.
Mr. Jenner.
Did you introduce yourself? And explain why you were there?
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. Yes, I said, "I'm a friend of George Bouhe, I want to see how you are getting along."
Mr. Jenner.
Did you speak in Russian or English?
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. In English at first, and then he switched to Russian.
Mr. Jenner.
What was your impression of his command of Russian?
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. Well, he spoke fluent Russian, but with a foreign accent, and made mistakes, grammatical mistakes, but had remarkable fluency in Russian.
Mr. Jenner.
It was remarkable?
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. Remarkable--for a fellow of his background and education, it is remarkable how fast he learned it. But he loved the language. He loved to speak it. He preferred to speak Russian than English any time. He always would switch from English to Russian.
Mr. Jenner.
Did you discuss life in Russia, how he got there?
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. I don't think the first time. I don't think the first time I said anything at all, you know. Possibly he told me that he had been in Minsk, and that got me curious, because I had lived in Minsk as a child, and my father was the so-called nobility marshal of Minsk. He got me curious, you know.
But I do not recall for sure whether it was the first time I met him or the second time or the third time. I don't remember. I think it was a very short meeting the first time, because Lawrence Orlov was there, and he wanted to get back home, so we just said, "Well, we will see you," and possibly Marina had mentioned that her baby needed--that she needed some medical attention with her teeth, and that the baby had not been inoculated. Possibly that was that time. But I am not so sure.
Mr. Jenner.
At least there was a time when that did arise?
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. Yes, yes.
Mr. Jenner.
Her need for dental care, some attention needed to be given to the child?
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