Mr. De Mohrenschildt. Yes.
Mr. Jenner. By whom?
Mr. De Mohrenschildt. By the Communists, by the Communist regime.
Mr. Jenner. Why was he seized?
Mr. De Mohrenschildt. For being outspoken, I guess. I remember—the first time I don't remember, frankly. But the second time I remember very well, because this is very interesting. He was seized the first time. Then the Polish Army arrived—the Poles and the Russians were fighting at the time. And at the last moment the Communists released my father, because of the intervention of some friend, you see. And we always had some friends whom we had protected once upon a time, who always came and helped him at the right moment with the Communists, because many Jewish people he had helped became Communists, or halfway Communists. They helped him. And that is how eventually we were able to escape from Soviet Russia.
The first time he was released, the Poles arrived, we were in Poland again, that was a temporary occupation. And then the Poles retreated and the Russians 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.