Mrs. Oswald. Yes. He said that he would go to Cuba. I told him I was not going with him—that I would stay here.
Mr. Rankin. On these occasions when he was practicing with the rifle, would they be three or four times a week in the evening, after the Fair Play for Cuba incident?
Mrs. Oswald. Almost every evening. He very much wanted to go to Cuba and have the newspapers write that somebody had kidnapped an aircraft. And I asked him "For God sakes, don't do such a thing."
Mr. Rankin. Did he describe that idea to you?
Mrs. Oswald. Yes.
Mr. Rankin. And when he told you of it, did he indicate that he wanted to be the one that would kidnap the airplane himself?
Mrs. Oswald. Yes, he wanted to do that. And he asked me that I should help him with that. But I told him I would not touch that rifle.
This sounds very merry, but I am very much ashamed of it.
Mr. Rankin. Did you tell him that using the rifle in this way, talking about it, was not in accordance with his agreement with you?
Mrs. Oswald. Yes.
Mr. Rankin. What did he say about that?
Mrs. Oswald. He said that everything would go well. He was very self-reliant—if I didn't want to.
Mr. Rankin. Was there any talk of divorce during this period?
Mrs. Oswald. No. During this time, we got along pretty well not counting the incidents with Cuba. I say relatively well, because we did not really have—generally he helped me quite a bit and was good to me. But, of course, I did not agree with his views.
Mr. Rankin. At this time in New Orleans did he discuss with you his views?
Mrs. Oswald. Yes.
Mr. Rankin. What did he say about that?
Mrs. Oswald. Mostly—most of the conversations were on the subject of Cuba.
Mr. Rankin. Was there anything said about the United States—not liking the United States.
Mrs. Oswald. No. I can't say—he liked some things in Russia, he liked some other things here, didn't like some things there, and didn't like some things here.
And I am convinced that as much as he knew about Cuba, all he knew was from books and so on. He wanted to convince himself. But I am sure that if he had gone there, he would not have liked it there, either. Only on the moon, perhaps.
Mr. Rankin. Did he tell you what he didn't like about the United States?
Mrs. Oswald. First of all, he didn't like the fact that there are fascist organizations here. That was one thing.
The second thing, that it was hard to get an education and hard to find work. And that medical expenses were very high.
Mr. Rankin. Did he say who he blamed for this?
Mrs. Oswald. He didn't blame anyone.
Mr. Rankin. Did he ever say anything about President Kennedy?
Mrs. Oswald. No. At least—I was always interested in President Kennedy and had asked him many times to translate articles in a newspaper or magazine for me, and he always had something good to say. He translated it, but never did comment on it. At least in Lee's behavior—from Lee's behavior I cannot conclude that he was against the President, and therefore the thing is incomprehensible to me. Perhaps he hid it from me. I don't know. He said that after 20 years he would be prime minister. I think that he had a sick imagination—at least at that time I already considered him to be not quite normal—not always, but at times. I always tried to point out to him that he was a man like any others who were around us. But he simply could not understand that.
I tried to tell him that it would be better to direct his energies to some more practical matters, and not something like that.
Mr. Rankin. Can you tell us what you observed about him that caused you to think he was different?
Mrs. Oswald. At least his imagination, his fantasy, which was quite unfounded, as to the fact that he was an outstanding man. And then the fact that he was very much interested, exceedingly so, in autobiographical works of outstanding statesmen of the United States and others.
Mr. Rankin. Was there anything else of that kind that caused you to think that he was different?
Mrs. Oswald. I think that he compared himself to these people whose autobiographies he read. That seems strange to me, because it is necessary to have an education in order to achieve success of that kind. After he became busy with his pro-Cuban activity, he received a letter from somebody in New York, some Communist—probably from New York—I am not sure from where—from some Communist leader and he was very happy, he felt that this was a great man that he had received the letter from.
You see, when I would make fun of him, of his activity to some extent, in the sense that it didn't help anyone really, he said that I didn't understand him, and here, you see, was proof that someone else did, that there were people who understood his activity.
I would say that to Lee—that Lee could not really do much for Cuba, that Cuba would get along well without him, if they had to.
Mr. Rankin. You would tell that to him?
Mrs. Oswald. Yes.
Mr. Rankin. And what would he say in return?
Mrs. Oswald. He shrugged his shoulders and kept his own opinion. He was even interested in the airplane schedules, with the idea of kidnapping a plane. But I talked him out of it.
Mr. Rankin. The airplane schedules from New Orleans?
Mrs. Oswald. New Orleans—but—from New Orleans—leaving New Orleans in an opposite direction. And he was going to make it turn around and go to Cuba.
Mr. Rankin. He discussed this with you?
Mrs. Oswald. Yes.
Mr. Rankin. When did his Fair Play for Cuba activity occur—before or after he lost his job?
Mrs. Oswald. After he lost his job. I told him it would be much better if he were working, because when he didn't work he was busy with such foolishness.
Mr. Rankin. What did he say about that?
Mrs. Oswald. Nothing. And it is at that time that I wrote a letter to Mrs. Paine telling her that Lee was out of work, and they invited me to come and stay with her. And when I left her, I knew that Lee would go to Mexico City. But, of course, I didn't tell Mrs. Paine about it.
Mr. Rankin. Had he discussed with you the idea of going to Mexico City?
Mrs. Oswald. Yes.
Mr. Rankin. When did he first discuss that?
Mrs. Oswald. I think it was in August.
Mr. Rankin. Did he tell you why he wanted to go to Mexico City?
Mrs. Oswald. From Mexico City he wanted to go to Cuba—perhaps through the Russian Embassy in Mexico somehow he would be able to get to Cuba.
Mr. Rankin. Did he say anything about going to Russia by way of Cuba?
Mrs. Oswald. I know that he said that in the embassy. But he only said so. I know that he had no intention of going to Russia then.
Mr. Rankin. How do you know that?
Mrs. Oswald. He told me. I know Lee fairly well—well enough from that point of view.
Mr. Rankin. Did he tell you that he was going to Cuba and send you on to Russia?
Mrs. Oswald. No, he proposed that after he got to Cuba, that I would go there, too, somehow.
But he also said that after he was in Cuba, and if he might go to Russia, he would let me know in any case.
Mr. Rankin. Did he discuss Castro and the Cuban Government with you?
Mrs.