Mr. VOSHININ. In 1942, the Germans forced me to go to work to Germany,
and actually, I jumped their train and remained in Austria close to
Yugoslavia. And after--by the end of the war when the Communists were
close, you know, we moved further west and somehow managed to come to
Kempten----
Mr. JENNER. To what?
Mr. VOSHININ. To Kempten in south Bavaria--[spelling] K-e-m-p-t-en--and
that's where we met the American Army.
Mr. JENNER. What you mean is that the American Army in its advance
reached the Bavarian area and freed you?
Mr. VOSHININ. Well, the American Army came to Kempten on 25th of April
and we reached Kempten on the 12th of April. So, I was just 13 days in
Germany before the American Army.
Mr. JENNER. Are you married?
Mr. VOSHININ. Yes; I am.
Mr. JENNER. And what is your wife's name?
Mr. VOSHININ. Natalie.
Mr. JENNER. And where did you marry her?
Mr. VOSHININ. Belgrade, Yugoslavia.
Mr. JENNER. When?
Mr. VOSHININ. It was in 1940.
Mr. JENNER. Do you have a family?
Mr. VOSHININ. No; I have no children. I have only my father here.
Mr. JENNER. When did you come to the United States?
Mr. VOSHININ. Uh--it was November 12, 1947.
Mr. JENNER. And your wife accompanied you at that time?
Mr. VOSHININ. That's right.
Mr. JENNER. And you settled where in this country?
Mr. VOSHININ. We settled first in New York.
Mr. JENNER. City?
Mr. VOSHININ. New York City, for some time, then we mostly lived in New
Jersey.
Mr. JENNER. Did you receive a higher education--that is, an education
beyond high school equivalent?
Mr. VOSHININ. Yes, sir.
Mr. JENNER. Would you tell us what that was, please, and where?
Mr. VOSHININ. I have bachelor degree in civil engineering from
the University of Belgrade, 1931, and the master degree in civil
engineering from the Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute, in 1955.
Mr. JENNER. And the Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute is in New York City,
or its environs?
Mr. VOSHININ. That's right--in Brooklyn.
Mr. JENNER. And you have pursued your profession in civil
engineering----
Mr. VOSHININ. Since 1931, up to now--except for the time of war.
Mr. JENNER. Would you give me the dates again when you were in
Yugoslavia?
Mr. VOSHININ. From the middle of 1920 to 1942.
Mr. JENNER. 1942? Is that when the Germans sought to bring you to
Germany and you escaped then to Austria?
Mr. VOSHININ. Yeah.
Mr. JENNER. That was an escape, wasn't it?
Mr. VOSHININ. Well, it was a little illegal [laughter]. Because they
dragged everybody to the Rhine, you know--and somehow I managed, with
other people, to get out of that train. There were hundreds of people
who got out.
Mr. DAVIS. Did you stay in Austria, then, throughout the war?
Mr. VOSHININ. Yes; almost out through the war.
Mr. JENNER. Now, Austria was occupied by the Germans also, was it not?
Mr. VOSHININ. Austria was occupied also as well as Yugoslavia. And, of
course, you had to go to the labor office--because otherwise I would be
arrested immediately.
Mr. DAVIS. When you'd go there, they'd let you stay in Austria?
Mr. VOSHININ. You see, every labor office was grabbing for labor
force--whoever would come, you know. And, therefore, they would not
disclose your name to the next labor office, you know. So, I--when I
got out of the train with two other fellows--and, of course, it has
cost us something; it wasn't for free, you know.
Mr. JENNER. You had to do a little bribery?
Mr. VOSHININ. Yeah, to three persons there--including the guard which
was taking, as we were explained, cigarettes. When we came out, we had
seen about a hundred people who did the same thing--so, it probably was
going--big business there.
Mr. DAVIS. When did you come to Dallas?
Mr. VOSHININ. 1955--about the first of September.
Mr. JENNER. You were naturalized in New York City?
Mr. VOSHININ. No, sir; in New Brunswick, N.J.
Mr. JENNER. Oh, New Brunswick, N.J.?
Mr. VOSHININ. New Brunswick, N.J. Yeah. We mostly preferred to live in
New Jersey, you know. It's a little better air. I'm an asthmatic, you
know.
Mr. JENNER. You're asthmatic?
Mr. VOSHININ. Yeah; I'm asthmatic--and, therefore, I have to choose my
climate.
Mr. JENNER. Mrs. Voshinin--was she likewise born in Russia?
Mr. VOSHININ. That's right. Only she's 12 years younger so when her
parents took her out of Russia, then she was 1 year old.
Mr. JENNER. She probably wouldn't remember then.
Mr. VOSHININ. She doesn't know anything about it.
Mr. JENNER. Now, when you came to Dallas in September of 1955, had you
had any advance acquaintance with anybody here?
Mr. VOSHININ. Yes; I knew two persons whom I met through the church.
Mr. JENNER. And what church is that?
Mr. VOSHININ. Uh--the church in Houston.
Mr. JENNER. What is the name of it and what is its denomination?
Mr. VOSHININ. Greek Orthodox Church.
Mr. JENNER. Greek Orthodox Church?
Mr. VOSHININ. Yes; I don't know what the church's name is. I think it's
St. Vladimir--but I'm not sure.
Mr. JENNER. St. Vladimir?
Mr. VOSHININ. Yeah; I think so--but I'm not quite sure that was the
name. And the thing is that we wanted to settle in Houston first----
Mr. JENNER. I see.
Mr. VOSHININ. But we didn't like the climate. And the people there they
gave us the name of Mr. Raigorodsky--Paul Raigorodsky.
Mr. JENNER. Spell that last name, please.
Mr. VOSHININ. R-a-i-g-o-r-o-d-s-k-y.
Mr. JENNER. Is he of Russian descent--or Yugoslavian or what?
Mr. VOSHININ. Yeah; Russian.
Mr. JENNER. He had preceded you to this country?
Mr. VOSHININ. Oh, yes.
Mr. JENNER. How long?
Mr. VOSHININ. He was the first Russian immigrant who settled here in
Dallas.
Mr. JENNER. I see.
Mr. VOSHININ. And he is a millionaire--a very rich man.
Mr. JENNER. Had you known him?
Mr. VOSHININ. No; we didn't know him personally but the priest there,
the pastor, you know, of our denomination in Houston said that when you
go to Dallas--we said that we passed through Dallas going to Houston
and we said we liked the climate much better and it's too humid there.
So we said, "Well, you know, we go to that city, we may settle there,
but we don't know anybody."
So, he said, "Well, why don't you--we have two men who are able to help
you--and this is Mr. Raigorodsky and Mr. Bouhe--George Bouhe." The
Russians are referring--joking about Raigorodsky--they call him, "the
Czar," here.
Mr. JENNER. Yeah.
Mr. VOSHININ. So--he's an old man--and so when we came, then the
next day--it was during our vacation in 1955--and so we went to see
Raigorodsky and then we went to see Bouhe. And they told us that there
is a church of our denomination here on McKinney and a few other just
useful things--nothing in particular.
Mr. JENNER. All right. Well, the main thing I wanted--when you came to
Dallas, you didn't know anybody?
Mr. VOSHININ. No.
Mr. JENNER. You then became acquainted with Mr. Bouhe?
Mr. VOSHININ. Bouhe--and Mr. Raigorodsky. Mr. Raigorodsky we kind of
liked--and Mr. Bouhe we kind of disliked.