Report of the President's Commission on the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy

Disillusionment Notes Aboard SS Maasdam

Probably while aboard the Maasdam, Oswald wrote notes on ship stationery summarizing what he believed he had learned from living under both capitalist and Communist systems, reflecting his “unhappy and deepening feeling of disillusionment” with both. He observed that reform groups always claim to serve their people and country, and asked what would happen “if somebody was to stand up and say he was utterly opposed not only to the governments, but to the people, too the entire land and complete foundations” of his society. He proposed a “third choice” between communism and capitalism, writing: “I have lived under both systems, I have sought the answers and although it would be very easy to dupe myself into believing one system is better than the other, I know they are not.” He also acknowledged that his “Red Cross” subsidy had actually been paid by the Soviet Government and declared, “I shall never sell myself intentionlly, or unintentionlly to anyone again.” Likely also aboard ship, Oswald drafted two sets of anticipated answers to questions about his decision to go to Russia and return—one apologetic in tone, the other asserting he had gone to study the Soviet system while remaining a loyal American who owed no apologies.

第二章 With the assistance of Agent in Charge Sorrels of the

Chapter II, compiled with the assistance of Agent in Charge Sorrels of the FBI, follows Lee and Marina Oswald from their arrival in Hoboken, New Jersey, on June 13 through the summer and early fall of 1962 in the Fort Worth–Dallas area. It traces their initial reception by social welfare agencies, reunion with Robert Oswald, Oswald’s attempt to have his Soviet manuscript typed and verified, two FBI interviews, their residential moves in Fort Worth, Oswald’s employment at the Leslie Welding Company, integration into a local Russian-speaking émigré community, the friction that developed between Oswald and his benefactors, his abrupt move to Dallas, and the beginning of his job search through the Texas Employment Commission.