In 1925, Voskovec (1905 - 1981) with Werich (1905 - 1980) founded the Osvobozené divadlo (Liberated Theater), which after two years ultimately changed into a center for Czech clownery, a reaction to contemporary political and societal problems. Their performances were strictly anti-fascist, which led to the closure of the Liberated Theater after the Nazi occupation in 1938. Both Voskovec and Werich fled to the United States in early 1939. For the rest of his life, Voskovec lived primarily in the United States, interupted only by brief stays in Czechoslovakia in 1948 and in France from 1948 to 1950. Until the mid-1940s Voskovec worked and wrote mostly with Jan Werich, but after Werich's return to communist Czechoslovakia, they met only a few more times. After his return to the United States in 1950, Voskovec was interned at the Ellis Island for eleven months for his alleged sympathy for communism. Although Voskovec lived in three countries and his maternal grandmother was French, he always maintained that "I am a born and bred Czech." In 1955, he became an American citizen. As a result of his naturalization, he is sometimes referred to as "George Voskovec". Jan Werich returned to his homeland five years later. Upon his return to Czechoslovakia he started a partnership with Miroslav Horníček and also worked with famous puppeteer Jiří Trnka to write modern fairy tales. With his new partner Miroslav Horníček at his side, he re-mounted many of the plays he had created with Vosk