Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. By the way, I may say--my wife reminded me of it
today--regarding the fact that I was taking sketches of so-called Coast
Guard in Texas, in 1940 or 1941--of course, which I was not doing,
because I was sketching the beach. The same thing happened to me in
Yugoslavia, except that this time they were the Communists who thought
I was making sketches of their fortifications. Actually, I was also
making drawings of the seashore. And this time they shot at us.
Mr. JENNER. Shot?
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. Shot. And they told me to get away--we were in
a little boat. And they kept on shooting at me. And the bullets were
hitting the water right around us--until we were away out into the sea.
So I made a complaint to the U.S. Embassy in Belgrade, and some kind of
an investigation was made. But this is an interesting correlation--that
I am accused both by the Yugoslavs and here, also, making sketches. I
should abandon making sketches in the future. No more painting.
Mr. JENNER. You have a ruddy complexion, but also you have a dark skin.
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. Yes.
Mr. JENNER. Is that a pigmentation, or from being out in the sun?
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. No; I spend a lot of time in the sun.
Mr. JENNER. Your brother Dimitri is a naturalized American citizen, is
he not?
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. Yes; much earlier than myself, because I think he
came to this country in the early twenties.
Mr. JENNER. The records show he was naturalized November 22, 1926, in
the U.S. district court at New Haven, which is where Yale University is
located.
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. Yes. He went to school at that time, to Yale.
Mr. JENNER. Do those facts square with your recollection?
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. Yes; approximately the right period. I remember
he went to Yale with Rudy Vallee--they were roommates.
Mr. JENNER. You mentioned that your brother came over to Europe and
was in Belgium while you were still there, just before you came back to
this country.
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. No, no; before I came back for the first time to
this country.
Mr. JENNER. That is correct.
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. Yes. Because it is my brother who helped me to
arrange my passport and my entrance. He didn't help me financially, but
arranged my permit.
Mr. JENNER. To refresh your recollection, the passport records indicate
that your brother applied for a passport for a visit in 1936, to visit
Poland and France for 3 months, and for the purpose of visiting his
family, and collecting material for magazine articles.
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. Yes.
Mr. JENNER. Does that square with your recollection?
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. That is about the right time when I first saw him
after many, many years--we took a trip together to see our father in
Poland.
Mr. JENNER. Now, at that time, he had already completed his work at
Yale, had he not?
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. Yes.
Mr. JENNER. He obtained his degree at Yale in 1926?
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. Yes. I don't know what year he completed.