Mrs. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. In Harbin. And he was helping and surveying the grounds or something. This I don't know, because I wasn't present--something on this order. And that is what really actually made us leave north in a hurry and go south, because the Japanese started to grab all the people that knew anything at all close to those plants. They wanted to keep everything very, very secret. So quite a few of our friends just disappeared overnight.
And then in a couple of weeks they may appear again half dead already, completely beaten to a pulp and so on. Quite a few things started to go on. And then somebody mentioned that they didn't like the idea that we knew too much about the plants or something of the airport and said we better leave, and we just left with very, very few things. We took a train and went south, and went to Shanghai, and lived in Shanghai, until we were ready to come to the United States.

Mr. Jenner.

While you were in China, were you and your husband---did you engage as a dancing team?
Mrs. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. Yes; I was dancing quite well.
You see, when you travel like that you cannot just get another job somewhere. So he was helping me. He helped me as a partner. And I danced a solo.
We did that in Tientsin. And then Shanghai.

Mr. Jenner.

And in order to support yourselves----
Mrs. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. We were a dancing team.
You see, it was a temporary period, but if things go well, we were doing very well really. Fate does strange things to you--throws you from one profession to another. You think it is the greatest tragedy--I will tell you later what happened to me and it is the best, actually.
So it was working out very well. We were quite successful. And then something happened later.

Mr. Jenner.

Now, did you change your name at this period of your life?
Mrs. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. We changed the name when we started dancing.

Mr. Jenner.

And you changed your name to what?
Mrs. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. LeGon. We picked up the name out of the dancing magazine. But with this name you see how it happens. You get so involved that you have to stick to it. You cannot just--you knew--because some people know you by this name, then you start with another name, and it sounds ridiculous. But since then already we had it. And we intended that when we came over, we are going to adopt it, because personally I don't think it is fair to our friend, and it is not fair for the country to use a name like Bogoiavlensky, or a name like De Mohrenschildt. If it would be up to me, I would cut the other one down.
It took me 3 months to learn to pronounce that name.

Mr. Jenner.

There have been some people that because of the name LeGon--that you had, some French. You are not French?
Mrs. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. No, I will tell you. I had to start in New York to do something, had a little girl a year old, and my husband had terrible trouble to get any kind of work. He was making $18 a week.

Mr. Jenner.

In 1938?
Mrs. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. No; it was 1940, 1941, when my little girl was born.

Mr. Jenner.

Your daughter was born in this country?
Mrs. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. Oh, yes.

Mr. Jenner.

And your daughter's name?
Mrs. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. That is why I could not dance any more. I had to drop completely dancing and everything.

Mr. Jenner.

Now, that you have mentioned your daughter, let's cover her. What was her given name?
Mrs. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. Her given name was Jeanne Elinor LeGon. Also after a dancer.

Mr. Jenner.

Eleanor Powell?
Mrs. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. Yes, exactly. And being unaware you see, in Europe if you have two names, the first name is important, the second one is usually your mother's or somebody, and you have it just in case.
In the States the last name is the one that counts--the previous names don't mean much.

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