Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. You have to refresh my memory, because, as I say,
I never expected questions like this. Sometimes if I make a mistake, it
is not my intention.
Mr. JENNER. Well, I don't suggest you are ever making a mistake. You
are calling on your own recollection.
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. Yes, yes; I am doing my best recollection.
Mr. JENNER. At this particular time, did you have some, oh, let me call
it, tenuous connection with some movie business?
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. Yes; that is right.
Mr. JENNER. Facts, Inc.?
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. That is right. That is another venture I went
into.
Mr. JENNER. This was 1941?
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. Yes.
Mr. JENNER. What was it?
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. I have a distant cousin by the name of Baron
Maydell.
Mr. JENNER. Now, he was a controversial man, was he not?
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. A very controversial person.
Mr. JENNER. In what sense?
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. In the sense that some people considered him
pro-Nazi.
Mr. JENNER. He was accused of being, was he not, during this period, a
German spy?
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. No. I don't know that. But he had been an officer
in the Czarist Army. He was a White Russian. And having lost everything
through Communism, he saw the future of his return to Russia, back
to his estates, through German intervention. Like many other White
Russians. He possibly was more German than Russian--although he had
been a Russian citizen, officer of the Czarist Army, and so forth and
so on. A controversial person, no question about it. But I liked him.
And he offered me to learn something about the making of documentary
movies.
Mr. JENNER. Documentary?
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. Yes--which is Facts--what was it called? Film
Facts Incorporated.
Mr. JENNER. Film Facts I think is the name of it.
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. And he had a very interesting movie there of the
Spanish revolution which he made. And this movie was shown all over
the United States and was backed by--this, again, is my recollection,
because it almost escaped from my mind. This movie was backed by quite
a number of people here. I remember most of them--by Grace, who is
president of Grace Lines today. So we decided with Maydell that we
could make another documentary movie on the resistance of Poland. This
is already--Poland had already been occupied. The movies were made
in Poland, I think, by Americans. I don't recall that exactly--by
Americans who were there during the occupation of Warsaw. And Maydell
had these movies in his possession, and we decided to make a movie for
the benefit of the Polish refugees.
Mr. JENNER. Resistance movement?
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. Yes. And collected money to that effect, small
amounts of money from the sympathizers of Poland. To me it was actually
a very pleasant experience. I tried to do my best, number one, to make
some money; number two, to help the Polish cause.
So I went to the Polish Consulate, made arrangements for the consul to
be a sponsor of this movie. And we eventually made this movie, put it
together. It was about 45 minutes long--a very interesting movie, very
moving picture of the resistance. But financially it was not a success.
I don't even recall why. Either Maydell never gave me any money or
something. Anyway, we broke up our partnership.
The movie did make some money for the Polish resistance fund. I think
they used it showing around the country. The Polish organizations in
the United States used that movie to show and collect money for their
own purpose.
Mr. JENNER. Yes.
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. I remember the picture was called "Poland Will
Never Die." It was an assembly job.
Mr. JENNER. Now, your interest was a business interest?
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. No; we also cut it together. We put the music
together. I learned a little bit about the technical end of it. We did
not own the studio, but we used the studio on the west side in New York
to have the technical facilities. Not very complicated. But we did it
all together.
Mr. JENNER. Was your grandfather born in this country?
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. No; great grandfather, or great, great
grandfather.
Mr. JENNER. Sergius Von Mohrenschildt, born somewhere in Pennsylvania,
later went to Russia, entered the oil business?
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. I will be darned. I didn't know that.
Mr. JENNER. I am not saying it is so.
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. I don't remember. We have in the family
some Baltic Swede, an ancestor of ours, who was an officer of the
Independence Army. But his name was not Mohrenschildt. He was Baron
Hilienfelt. My brother knows of that, because he is more interested in
it. He became an officer in the Army of Independence, took the name
of Ross. He was an officer in the Army of Independence, and then went
back to Europe and died there. And somebody was telling me there was on
his tomb in Sweden, I went later on to Sweden, and I was curious and
inquired about it. It was said he was a lieutenant or captain in the
American Army of Independence. So my brother, I think, because of that,
being an older member of the family, had the right to be--what do you
call it--a descendant----
Mr. JENNER. Of the American Revolution?
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. That is right. He told me either he became a
member of it, or could become a member of it. I have to ask him about
that.
Mr. JENNER. All right.
Did you once describe your work in the insurance business as the
lousiest, stinkingest, sorriest type of business possible?
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. Yes.
Mr. JENNER. And that wine company--was that the Vintage Wine, Inc.
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. Yes; I also was doing some selling of wine in
Vintage Wine, Inc.
Mr. JENNER. On a commission?
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. Yes.
Mr. JENNER. And you have mentioned the Shumaker Company.
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. Yes.
Mr. JENNER. Is the name Pierre Fraiss familiar to you?
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. Yes; this is one of my best friends.
Mr. JENNER. Is he still alive?
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. Yes.
Mr. JENNER. What business was he in then?
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. He was then chief of export of Schumaker and
Company.
Mr. JENNER. Did Mr. Fraiss have any connection with the French
intelligence in the United States?
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. Yes.
Mr. JENNER. Did you become involved with him in that connection?
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. Yes.
Mr. JENNER. When?
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. Well, it was just probably in 1941, I presume, in
1941.
Mr. JENNER. What did you do?
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. Well, we collected facts on people involved in
pro-German activity, and----
Mr. JENNER. This was anti-German activity?
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. Yes.
Mr. JENNER. On behalf of the French intelligence in the United States?
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. Yes; I was never an official member of it, you
see, but I worked with Pierre Fraiss, and it was my understanding that
it was French intelligence.
Mr. JENNER. And did that work take you around the country?
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. Yes.
Mr. JENNER. Tell us about it.
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. Well, I think we went to Texas together again and
tried to contact the oil companies in regard to purchases of oil for
the French interests.
Mr. JENNER. Were the Germans also seeking to obtain oil?
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. Yes; that is right.