Warren Commission (08 of 26): Hearings Vol. VIII (of 15)United States. Warren Commission
History
Warren Commission (08 of 26): Hearings Vol. VIII (of 15)
United States. Warren Commission
Kennedy, John F. (John Fitzgerald), 1917-1963 -- Assassination; Oswald, Lee Harvey
Dr. HARTOGS. That is tough. I remember that--actually I reconstructed
this from what I remembered from the seminar. We gave a seminar on
this boy in which we discussed him, because he came to us on a charge
of truancy from school, and yet when I examined him, I found him to
have definite traits of dangerousness. In other words, this child had
a potential for explosive, aggressive, assaultive acting out which was
rather unusual to find in a child who was sent to Youth House on such a
mild charge as truancy from school.
This is the reason why I remember this particular child, and that is
the reason why we discussed him in the seminar.
I found him to be a medium-sized, slender, curlyhaired youngster,
pale-faced, who was not very talkative, he was not spontaneous. He had
to be prompted. He was polite. He answered in a somewhat monotonous
fashion. His sentences were well structured. He was in full contact
with reality.
Mr. LIEBELER. He was?
Dr. HARTOGS. He was in full contact with reality. I found his reasoning
to be intensely self-centered, his judgment also centering around his
own needs, and the way he looked at life and his relationships with
people. This was mostly in the foreground. So this is what I remember
actually.
Mr. LIEBELER. You say that you have reconstructed your recollection
of your interview with Lee Oswald by thinking of the seminar that you
gave; is that correct?
Dr. HARTOGS. The seminar; that is right.
Mr. LIEBELER. Do you have any independent recollection of the interview
with Lee Oswald itself?
Dr. HARTOGS. Only from remembering the seminar, what kind of a boy he
was and what I said at that time, I was able to reconstruct the picture
of the boy as I just described it; yes. That is how I proceeded.
Mr. LIEBELER. Tell us about the seminar, Doctor. How did it come that
you gave this seminar on Oswald, to whom was it given, what was the
general subject matter of the seminar?
Dr. HARTOGS. Yes; every Monday afternoon, at 1:30 until 3 o'clock, the
professional Youth House staff gets together in order to discuss an
interesting or unusual child. At that time we selected Oswald because
of the reason which I indicated, the discrepancy between the charge and
the seriousness of his personality disturbance, and the seminar was
opened by the Youth House director; then the social worker talked about
the development, background and early history of the child; then the
Youth House recreation department and household talked, and then the
school department gave a report; then the psychologist reported on his
findings, and then I acquainted the people who were present with the
findings of the psychiatrist and recommendations which I made to the
court.
Mr. LIEBELER. Whose suggestion was it that Oswald be used as a subject
matter for the seminar?
Dr. HARTOGS. I believe it was mine, because I was the one to select
these children.
Mr. LIEBELER. Was there any report of the proceedings of the seminar
prepared?
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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