104-10414-10151 4 April 1977 MEMORANDUM FOR THE RECORD SUBJECT: Comments on George de Mohrenschildt (201-155221). 1. According to the Warren Commission Report, page 283, ". . . George de Mohrenschildt is a highly individualistic person of varied interests. He was born in (Mozyr) in the Russian Ukraine in (17 April) 1911 and fled Russia with his parents in 1921 during the civil disorder following the revolution. He was in a Polish cavalry military academy for 11/2 years. Later he studied in Antwerp and attended the University of Liege from which he received a doctor's degree in international commerce in 1928. Soon thereafter, he emi- grated to the United States; he became a U.S. citizen in 1949. De Mohrenschildt eventually became interested in oil explora- tion and production; he entered the University of Texas in 1944 and received a master's degree in petroleum geology and petroleum engineering in 1945. He has since become active as a petroleum engineer throughout the world. In 1960, after the death of his son, he and his wife made an 8-month hike from the United States-Mexican border to Panama over primitive jungle trails. By happenstance they were in Guatemala City at the time of the Bay of Pigs invasion. A lengthy film and complete written log was prepared by de Mohrenschildt and a report of the trip was made to the U.S. Government. Upon arriving in Panama they journeyed to Haiti where de Mohren- schildt eventually became involved in a Government-oriented business venture in which he has been engaged continuously since June 1963... ." Zz. Somewhat of a non-conformist, de Mohrenschildt was a peripheral member of the so-called Russian community, in Dallas, with which Lee Harvey Oswald made contact through Peter Gregory, a Russian-speaking petroleum engineer whom Oswald met as a result of his contact with the Texas Employment Commission office in Fort Worth. Occasional contacts with de Mohrenschildt and his wife continued until May 1963 when the de Mohrenschildt's went to Haiti. 3. There is voluminous material on de Mohrenschildt in CIA files, most of it dating from the post-Kennedy assassi- nation period when he testified before the Warren Commission E2 IMPDET CL BY 061197
13-00000 on his acquaintance with Lee Harvey Oswald and the latter's wife. The. testimony the by de Mohrenschildt and his wife 4, The bulk of the material in Agency files consists’ of FBI reports, the most recent of which is dated 1967. The FBI has informed CIA that it has no traces on de Mohrenschildt beyond that date. (Memorandum no. 76-3000 from the IG to the Director, 22 September 1976.) 5. Our files show that a mail cover was placed on letters addressed to de Mohrenschildt, c/o the United States Embassy in Haiti, from about 1964 to 1966. This included opening and photographing the contents of some letters {by the. Station there. The results of the operations were shared with the FBI. (Memorandum no. 76-3000 cited above.) (The genesis of this mail operation is not readily available. A search is being made to find it.) 6. The most recent information relating to de Mohren- schildt is correspondence dated 5 September 1976 from him to the Director,George Bush. De Mohrenschildt claims that he and his wife "find ourselves surrounded by some vigilantes; our phone bugged and we are being followed everywhere. Either the FBI is involved in this or they do not want to accept my complaints. We are driven to insanity by this situation." De Mohrenschildt goes on to ask the Director if he could do something "to remove this net around us." 7. According to a note from the Director, he had first met de Mohrenschildt in the early 40's "He was an uncle to my Andover roommate". The Director has not heard from him for many years until the letter arrived. The Director res- ponded to de Mohrenschildt's letter on 28 September 1976. (A. copy of this material is attached as an enclosure to Memorandum no. 76-3000 from the IG under Tab A.) 8. Earlier in 1976, the Agency received information from Mr. J. Walton Moore who had been contacted in May and July 1976 by writers connected with the Reader's Digest, and with the Dial Press and the Dell Publishing Company. Both writers questioned Mr. Moore about Oswald and Mr. de Mohrenschildt. (Moore's reports on these contacts are attached to the IG Memorandum.)
13-00000 seus 9. De Mohrenschildt appears to have lead an adventurous and colorful life as a petroleum engineer and businessman. He is both well and poorly connected, and some of his associations have raised serious questions. (See paragraph . 10 below.) - Certainly his. relationship with the Oswald's has caused this Agency and the FBI to spend more time and energy on him in the past than was necessary. Both the FBI and this Agency, however, had dropped their interests in de Mohrenschildt's activities by the mid-to-late 1960's 10. One of de Mohrenschildt's more questionable contacts (not covered in his 201 file) has been reported in the Washington Post and the Washington Star. According to the 31 March 1977 issue of the Star, Willem Oltmans, a Dutch journalist, began cultivating de Mohrenschildt as a news source and as a friend some ten years ago. According to Oltmans' file he was born on 10 June 1925 in Huizen, Holland. He studied at Yale in 1950 and was expelled for misbehavior (financial problems ?). For a short time he worked for the United Press and De Telegraff a Dutch newspaper; however, he was fired from both. In 1956 or 1957 he married an American ground stewardess. In 1960 he divorced her and in November 1961 was living with a Filipino male. Oltmans was admitted to the United States in New York City as a permanent resident on 10 June 1958. a. Numerous field reports indicate that in 1956 Oltmans arranged an introduction for himself to President Sukarno. He then traveled with Sukarno during the President's trip through Europe in 1956 as the President's guest. Oltmans trip from Indonesia to the US in Feb 57 was paid by the Indonesian government. Indications are that he was being used as a tool by the Indonesian government to carry on propaganda in the US and at the UN. b. In March 1960 Oltmans described himself as anti- communist. He stated his views are at best those of a great admirer of communism and what the communist system represents. He was described as having excellent contacts with all the communist-dominated countries, including Cuba. c. According to press reports, on 18 December 1962 Oltmans announced he intended to take legal action against, Dutch Foreign Minister J. M. A. H. Luns. OGltmans alleged that he had been refused “on instructions from Luns" a declara- tion by the Dutch Embassy in Washington, D. C., that he was a bona fide journalist working for bona fide newspapers. An early 1972 report stated Oltmans was attempting to have the
13-00000 | f a | government prosecute Luns for “lying and misleading the government" om Indonesia during his tenure as foreign minister. The 19 and 20 January 1972 issues of Dutch paper De Telegraaf carry articles exposing activities Oltmans who engaged in denigration. campaign against Luns. Stories accuse Soviets of collusion with Oltmans and of interference in | Dutch internal affairs. d. In 1963 Oltmans was a journalist at the UN connected with an obscure Dutch newspaper. The other journalists claimed to never have seen anything of Oltmans' in print. While at the UN Oltmans applied for membership in the UN correspondence association. However, he could not produce a single clipping to demonstrate his journalistic activities. During this time, he gave lectures, earning about $6000 per season, on international politics, touching on Asia in general and Indonesia specifically. He claims to have grown up in Indonesia and therefore knows the condi- tions there. e. In November 1963, a liaison report described Subject as "outspoken anti-American, outspoken pro-Indonesian, and persona non-grata with the Dutch." f. In April 1967 Subject claimed to have sold an article to RAMPARTS magazine about the CIA in Indonesia. However, the article was never printed. g. In February 1968, Subject interviewed Jim Garrison on Dutch TV about the Kennedy assassination. h. In February 1972 a liaison report described Subject as an emotionally disturbed publicity seeker who doesn't seem to care what type publicity he receives. i. In 1972 Oltmans was planning to make a film in the USSR on ecology. He visited the USSR 23-26 January 1972 to make final arrangements for the film. At this time, Dutch | Service claimed Subject had a 5-year retainer from Soviets - as overt PR man. (No indication in file if film ever made.) - Subject's Travel: 1956 - met and accompanied President Sukarno on European trip. December 1956 - visited Indonesia. February 57 - USA. 1960 - Congo. 1961 - E. Ger- many, Czechslovakia, Poland, Hungary. 1962 - Cuba. January 1972 - USSR. February - March 1972 - USA. March 1972 - USSR. (DIRECTOR 851765, 10 May 1976) ee Pies
13-00000 11. An earlier document dated 1 February 1972 from the Dutch services provides. information relating to Oltmans' contacts with various Soviet officials including one Kuznetsov, Cultural Attache in the Soviet Embassy in The Hague, who, it is believed, may be the same Kuznetzov whom Oltmans and de Mohrenschildt met in Brussels on 5 March 1977. <A check of Soviets in Brussels reveals the name of Viadimir Kuznetsov who arrived in Brussels in September 1976. (See copy of. ONHA 38577, 1 February 1972, under Tab B.) Viadimir Kuznetsov (201-0943610) is possibly identical with Viadimir Sergeyevich Kuznetsov, a GRU staff officer. (DIRECTOR 914708, 13 September 1976.) 12. Although Oltmans may be described as an unscrupulous publicity seeker, his contacts with the Soviets (not fully explained). and de Mohrenschildt add a sinister quality which, unless proven to be otherwise, may have an adverse effect upon the Agency's role in the present investigation into the Kennedy assassination. A75 lanl Attachments: Tab A and B Distribution: 1 - C/CI/0G w/atts. 1 - IG w/fatts. 1 - SA/DO/O w/atts.