Despite being attached to one of the most shocking crimes of its time, it seems that the people of America took pity on Marina. According to the University of Michigan Heritage Center, the plight of the widow, with two preschoolers to feed, tugged at the heartstrings, and soon enough she’d received donations of food, clothing, and cash totaling $70,000 –  the equivalent of over $600,000 in 2022 dollars — as well as an offer to come to Michigan to learn English and live with a family there.

First, however, the Warren Commission wanted to talk to her, and the feds, on learning that she was a Soviet, made it clear that she’d be on the first plane back to Minsk if she didn’t tell them everything she knew, according to All That’s Interesting. She apparently didn’t know much, but her testimony was enough to convince the commission that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone.

After her testimony, she did, in fact, go to Michigan, although not everyone in the Wolverine State was happy to have her there. “Please get her away from Michigan. In my book she belongs where her husband is. Where is your respect for President Kennedy?,” wrote one angry resident.

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