George de Mohrenschildt - Another Backyard Photo

Another Backyard Photo

On April 1, 1977, Jeanne de Mohrenschildt gave the House Select Committee on Assassinations a photograph taken of Lee Harvey Oswald, by his wife Marina, standing in his Dallas backyard holding two newspapers and a rifle, and with a pistol on his hip. The existence of this print, while similar to others which had been found among Oswald's effects on November 23, 1963, was previously unknown. On the back was written To my friend George from Lee Oswald, and the date “5/IV/63” (5 April 1963). along with the words “Copyright Geo de M”' and a Russian phrase translated as “'Hunter of fascists, ha-ha-ha!” Handwriting specialists later concluded that the words “To my friend George…” and Oswald's signature were written by Lee Harvey Oswald, but could not determine whether the rest was the writing of Lee Oswald, George de Mohrenschildt or Marina Oswald. Some historians have speculated the Russian line was written by Marina, in sarcasm. (George de Mohrenschildt in his memoir translated it as "This is the hunter of fascists, ha, ha, ha!" and also assumed that Marina had written it sarcastically).

George de Mohrenschildt wrote in his manuscript (reference and pages cited above) that he had missed Oswald's photograph in packing for the move to Haiti in May, 1963, and this was why he hadn't mentioned it to the Warren Commission (though he had noted in his manuscript that Oswald had a rifle in April, 1963, and scoffed to Lee that he had missed General Walker, remembering that Lee had blanched at the joke). According to de Mohrenschildt, the photo was not found among his stored papers until his wife found it in 1967. When analyzed by the HSCA in 1977, this photo turned out to be a first generation print of the backyard photo already known to the Warren Commission as CE-133A, and which had probably been taken on March 31, 1963.