No, I don't. I have your immigration record here. I will find it in a moment. You became a U.S. citizen in proceedings in the U.S. district court, in New York City, February 28, 1945.
Mrs. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. 1945.

Mr. Jenner.

Were you born on May 5, 1914?
Mrs. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. Right.

Mr. Jenner.

Your parents, were they Russian citizens?
Mrs. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. My father took a Chinese passport, and I cannot tell you whether he already had it when I was horn, or whether he took one later. But I believe he took one later. He took probably one later, when they sold the railroad to the Reds, you know. That is when he took the Chinese passport.

Mr. Jenner.

He was born in Russia?
Mrs. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. Yes.

Mr. Jenner.

And your mother was born in Russia?
Mrs. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. To my knowledge, yes. They were living a few years in China before I was born.

Mr. Jenner.

Now, in what business or occupation or government service was your father engaged?
Mrs. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. My father was in charge of the Far Eastern railroad.

Mr. Jenner.

For what country?
Mrs. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. For China. He was working directly with the Chinese Government and with Chinese officials, with Chinese people. And then in 1925, when the Chinese sold the railroad----

Mr. Jenner.

When what?
Mrs. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. In 1925, the Chinese people sold the railroad to the Russians, and they changed the tracks, connected with the Trans-Siberian Railroad. My father resigned. And he received quite a lot of money from that. He had been in the service for quite a few years.

Mr. Jenner.

You were 11 years old then?
Mrs. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. 1925; yes.

Mr. Jenner.

And you were personally aware of this event?
Mrs. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. Oh, yes; I knew about that. I cannot tell you--that is recollections of the past. And he started to build another railroad on his own called HoHi Railroad.

Mr. Jenner.

Excuse me.
You came to this country on August 4, 1938.
Mrs. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. Right; San Francisco.

Mr. Jenner.

All right. Now, your father, as you said, was director of a Chinese Eastern railroad.
Mrs. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. That is right.

Mr. Jenner.

I was looking for some papers here. The Chinese sold the railroad to Russia?
Mrs. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. Yes.

Mr. Jenner.

That was in 1925?
Mrs. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. That is how I understood it.

Mr. Jenner.

In any event, your father ceased at that time to be director of the Chinese Eastern Railroad.
Mrs. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. That is right. He resigned, and in fact we were planning to come to the United States, the whole family. We wanted to come to the United States.

Mr. Jenner.

Why?
Mrs. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. Just because it is not our country to live there forever. We were brought up with white people, you know.

Mr. Jenner.

Why did your father resign when the railroad was sold to the Russians?
Mrs. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. Because from what I know they wanted him to take a Communist passport, and he refused.

Mr. Jenner.

Was he anti-Communist?

« Previous | Next »

Found a Typo?

Click here

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