didn't say that.
Mr. Rankin. Did they give any reason, other than the fact that you had them?
Mrs. Oswald. They never gave that as a direct reason, because the Soviet Government was not against marrying an American. But every small official wants to keep his place, and he is afraid of any troubles. I think it was sort of insurance.
Mr. Rankin. Was there any kind of a hearing about your being let out of the Comsomol?
Mrs. Oswald. Oh, yes.
Mr. Rankin. Did you attend?
Mrs. Oswald. I didn't go there, and they discharged me without me—I was very glad. There was even a reporter there from Comsomol paper, Comsomol Pravda, I think. He tried to shame me quite strongly—for what, I don't know. And he said that he would write about this in the paper, and I told him "Go ahead and write."
But he didn't write anything, because, after all, what could he write?
Mr. Rankin. Did you make any objection to being removed from the Comsomol?
Mrs. Oswald. No.
Mr. Rankin. Did you belong to any social clubs there?
Mrs. Oswald. No.
Mr. Rankin. Did you belong to any culture groups?
Mrs. Oswald. No.
Mr. Rankin. Did you go out with groups of students in the evening?
Mrs. Oswald. Of course.
Mr. Rankin. After you came to the United States, did you correspond with some of these friends?
Mrs. Oswald. Yes, but these were not the same friends. They were generally some girl friends before I was married and some friends we made later.
Mr. Rankin. Did you have a social life there at Minsk?
Mrs. Oswald. Of course.
Mr. Rankin. What did that social life consist of? Did you go to parties or to the opera or theater, or what?
Mrs. Oswald. Sometimes we met at the home of some friends. Of course we went to the opera, to the theater, to concerts, to the circus. To a restaurant.
Mr. Rankin. When did you first meet Lee Oswald?
Mrs. Oswald. The first time when I went to a dance, to a party. And there I met Lee.
Mr. Rankin. Do you recall the date?
Mrs. Oswald. On March 4th.
Mr. Rankin. What year?
Mrs. Oswald. 1961.
Mr. Rankin. Where did you meet him?
Mrs. Oswald. In Minsk.
Mr. Rankin. Yes—but can you tell us the place?
Mrs. Oswald. In the Palace of Trade Unions.
Mr. Rankin. What kind of a place is that? Is that where there are public meetings?
Mrs. Oswald. Sometimes they do have meetings there. Sometimes it is also rented by some institutes who do not have their own halls for parties.
Mr. Rankin. They have dances?
Mrs. Oswald. Yes. Every Saturday and Sunday.
Mr. Rankin. Did someone introduce you to him?
Mrs. Oswald. Yes.
Mr. Rankin. Who introduced you?
Mrs. Oswald. I had gone there with my friends from the medical institute, and one of them introduced me to Lee.
Mr. Rankin. What was his name?
Mrs. Oswald. Yuri Mereginsky.
Mr. Rankin. Do you know by what name Lee Oswald was introduced to you?
Mrs. Oswald. Everyone there called him Alec, at his place of work, because Lee is an unusual, cumbersome name. For Russians it was easier—this was easier.
Mr. Rankin. Is Alec a name close to Lee, as far as the Russian language is concerned?
Mrs. Oswald. A little. Somewhat similar.
Mr. Rankin. Did you know that Lee Oswald was an American when you first met him?
Mrs. Oswald. I found that out at the end of that party, towards the end of that party, when I was first introduced to him, I didn't know that.
Mr. Rankin. Did that make any difference?
Mrs. Oswald. It was more interesting, of course. You don't meet Americans very often.
Mr. Rankin. After this first meeting, did you meet him a number of times?
Mrs. Oswald. Yes.
Mr. Rankin. Can you describe just briefly how you met him and saw him?
Mrs. Oswald. After the first meeting he asked me where he could meet me again. I said that perhaps some day I will come back here again, to the Palace. About a week later I came there again with my girl friend, and he was there.
Mr. Rankin. And did he have a period that he was in the hospital there?
Mrs. Oswald. I had arranged to meet with him again. I had already given him a telephone number. But he went to a hospital and he called me from there. We had arranged to meet on a Friday, and he called from the hospital and said he couldn't because he was in the hospital and I should come there, if I could.
Mr. Rankin. Did you learn what was wrong with him then?
Mrs. Oswald. He was near the ear, nose and throat section and it seems that he had something wrong with his ears and also the glands or polyps.
Mr. Rankin. Did you visit him regularly for some period of time?
Mrs. Oswald. Yes, quite frequently, because I felt sorry for him being there alone.
Mr. Rankin. And did you observe a scar on his left arm?
Mrs. Oswald. He had a scar, but I found that out only after we were married.
Mr. Rankin. What did you find out about that scar?
Mrs. Oswald. When I asked him about it, he became very angry and asked me never to ask about that again.
Mr. Rankin. Did he ever explain to you what caused the scar?
Mrs. Oswald. No.
Mr. Rankin. Did you ever learn what caused the scar?
Mrs. Oswald. I found out here, now, recently.
Mr. Rankin. Did you learn that he had tried to commit suicide at some time?
Mrs.
