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Anastasia Manahan
File:Annaan.JPG
Born	c. 1900 unknown
Died	4 February 1984 Charlottesville, Virginia, USA
Cause of death	Pneumonia
Other names	Anna Anderson, Anna Tchaikovsky
Spouse	John Eacott Manahan

Anastasia Manahan, usually known as Anna Anderson (c. 1900 — 4 February 1984), was the best known of several women who claimed to be Grand Duchess Anastasia, the youngest daughter of Tsar Nicholas II and Empress Alexandra, the last monarchs of Imperial Russia. The Grand Duchess Anastasia was born on June 5th, 1901 and executed with her family on the night of July 17, 1918 by Bolsheviks in the town of Ekaterinburg, Russia.

Anderson's body was cremated upon her death in 1984. Following Anderson's death, DNA tests were performed comparing Anderson's DNA to the known bloodline of Grand Duchess Anastasia. Repeated DNA tests confirmed that she was not related to the Russian Imperial Family.

The death of Grand Duchess Anastasia

Seventeen year old Grand Duchess Anastasia was murdered along with the rest of her family on the night of July 17, 1918 in the cellar of the Ipatiev House in Ekaterinburg, Russia. Her end was particularly brutal. In their book, The Fate of the Romanovs, authors Greg King and Penny Wilson describe Anastasia's last moments based on the testaments of her murderers :

"Anastasia had backed into the corner next to the storeroom door. Peter Ermakov turned on her, slashing frenziedly "through the air" as he approached. Drunk and crazed, he struck the pier, his bayonet slicing deeply into the plaster, before drawing back the blade and plunging it into Anastasia's chest as she struggled to fend him off. In an increasing spiral of savagery, he swung his knife repeatedly, unable to penetrate her bodice. "Screaming and fighting," Yakov Yurovsky wrote, she fell only after Erkamov put his gun to her head and pulled the trigger."

Yurovsky and fellow assassin Kudrin moved about the room, taking pulses. Yurovsky, in 1922, wrote, "after checking again to see that all were dead, I ordered the men to start moving them."

The First Appearance Of Anna Anderson

Anna Anderson's first claim to be the Grand Duchess Anastasia occurred after her failed attempt at suicide in Berlin 1920, although it was not until 1922 her claim became world famous. Later, she explained that she had gone by train and walked to Berlin to seek out her "aunt," Princess Irene, sister of Tsarina Alexandra. Once she reached the palace, she claimed that no one would recognize her, or worse, that they would discover she had borne a child out of wedlock. In shame, she attempted to take her own life by jumping off a bridge into the cold water of the Landwehr Canal.

She was rescued by a passing official and became a ward of the state as a patient in a mental hospital in Dalldorf. The young woman was covered, according to her doctors at the asylum with half a dozen bullet wounds and lacerations, including a star shaped scar behind her head (the doctors originally believed this led to her original loss of memory. The doctors also surmised that the woman was probably a “Russian refugee” because of her Eastern accent. Also noted was a triangular shaped scar on her foot. Rarely talking, and refusing to provide hospital staff with any information about herself led the nurses to nickname her Fräulein Unbekannt (Miss Unknown). She did, however, confess to Nurse Malinovsky in 1921 that she was the Grand Duchess Anastasia. She remained in the asylum for two years until Clara Peuthert, a fellow psychiatric patient, claimed she recognized Anderson to be the Grand Duchess Tatiana, based upon photos of the Grand Duchesses she saw in a magazine.

Baroness Buxhoeveden, a former member of the Russian Imperial Court, was the first to visit the asylum in order to determine if Anderson's claim to be a daughter of Tsar Nicholas II was legitimate. Upon arrival, the baroness pulled Anderson up off the bed and claimed that she was “too short to be Tatiana”. She left believing Anderson a fraud, and never wavered in her opinion. Anderson stated that she never claimed she was Tatiana, but that she was Anastasia.

When Anderson first came to notoriety Germany was racked by political instability, depression and uncertainty. People were anxious to escape the harshness around them and were irresistibly drawn to the tragic romance of a lost princess found, a real life Cinderella story that would enthral the world.{cn}

Newspapers and their readers wanted to believe and allowed themselves to be led by her supporters, disregarding inconsistencies in her story and absence of tangible evidence. At the time no one knew for certain what fate had befallen the tsar and his family. Without going into detail the Bolshevik authorities announced they had shot the tsar and moved the family. Sensational reports of their survival were published around the world, Russia's exile communities were abuzz with rumour for decades. Even after White Russian investigator Nicholas Sokolov officially reported the entire family had been murdered, findings supported by no less an authority than Trotsky himself, many still held out for a miracle.

Tchaikovsky, husband and son

Thus began a series of events that would shape Anderson's life forever, regardless of who she really was. Miss Unknown, who began calling herself Anastasia Tchaikovsky (she told confidantes the name of the Russian soldier who rescued her, married her, and eventually fathered her a son was Alexander Tchaikovsky) claimed to have survived the massacre in the basement of the Ipatiev House in Yekaterinburg where the Imperial family is believed to have been murdered. She said that as the assassination began she passed out, and after falling to the ground, she was shielded from additional harm by the body of her sister, Tatiana. The still unidentified Tchaikovsky and his brother,(believed to be the brothers Stanislav and Nicholas Mishkevich)(Rathlef-Keilmann) supposedly part of the executioner's squad, noticed she was still alive amongst the corpses after the execution and were able to sneak her out of the building past manned armed guards. After her rescue, she was supposedly brought to Bucharest by Alexander and his brother Serge, their sister Veronica, and their mother. She claims to have had a child with Alexander, and they got married in Bucharest. It was in Bucharest, she said, that Tchaikovsky was killed in a street brawl. According to Greg King, author of 'The Fate of the Romanovs', it is now possible to accurately name the ten men who formed the execution squad plus the names of the guards at the Ipatiev House. None of them had the name of Tchiakovsky as claimed by Anna Anderson.

At no time did Anastasia Tchaikovsky make any attempt to approach the closest family member who had last seen Grand Duchess Anastasia outside of Russia in 1914, her Mother's first cousin, Queen Marie of Romania, during her entire time in Bucharest. Upon her release from the asylum in Berlin, Anastasia was taken in by Baron Von Kleist, a Russian emigré who believed her claim. However, Anastasia felt he was putting her on display and making a spectacle out of her, {cn} so she ran away and was taken in by Inspector Grünberg.

Inspector Grünberg

While staying with the inspector, Empress Alexandra's sister, Princess Irene, came to visit Anderson under an assumed name. Writing wrote about the visit, "I saw immediately that she could not be one of my nieces. Even though I had not seen them for nine years, the fundamental facial characteristics could not have altered to that degree, in particular the position of the eyes, the ears, etc..." Later in her bedroom there followed a fruitless interrogation. Anderson, her head in her hands, turned away from Princess Irene and refused to reply to her. She did not answer when I asked her to say a word or give me a sign that she recognised me. ""Don't you know I'm your Aunt Irene?" After a while the Princess gave up, collected her things,and left. Prince Oskar of Prussia, Princess Irene's nephew, said the whole affair had upset her "so terribly" and that her husband, Prince Henry of Prussia had forbidden Anastasia as a topic of conversation in the house.

Princess Irene's son, Prince Sigismund, who barely knew Anastasia, later sent Anderson a list of questions that he said only Anastasia could know how to answer. It is claimed that Anderson answered every question correctly. {cn}

1925 hospital visits - Grand Duchess Olga, Gilliard, Tegleva and Gibbes

In 1925, Anderson developed an infection in her arm and was again placed in a hospital. Sick and near death, she lost a lot of weight. It was during this time that Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna of Russia, the younger sister of Tsar Nicholas II and Anastasia’s aunt, who had survived the Revolution and settled in Denmark, came to Berlin to see the woman who claimed to be her niece. She spent several days with the patient and exchanged letters with her for a time. According to Dr. Rudnev (the doctor treating Anderson), another visitor, Imperial tutor, Pierre Gilliard never referred to the young woman as “Her Imperial Highness” and said that the woman in the hospital was not the Grand Duchess. The fact she couldn't speak or read Russian, English or French at the time like all the tsar's daughters, was sufficient proof for former court tutor Pierre Gilliard that Anderson was an impostor. Olga and Gilliard declared they had known that she was a fraud. Gilliard denounced Anderson as being "a cunning psychopath".

Grand Duchess Olga did feel sorry for Anderson. She sent her presents consisting of a small photo album and a knitted shawl. According to Coryne Hall, author of "Little Mother of Russia", Olga discussed Anderson with her mother, Dowager Empress Marie. Exactly what she told her mother is unknown but the Empress made it plain that she was not interested and was angry with her for travelling to Berlin. "What do you think? she exclaimed, "That I would sit here .. and not rush to my granddaughter's side?"

Prince Christopher of Greece commented on the visit of his first cousin, Grand Duchess Olga to Anna Anderson,"Even when the Grand Duchess Olga, the favourite aunt of the Czar's children, was brought to see her, she gave no sign of recognition and could not remember the pet name by which she was always known in the family." Another Imperial tutor, Charles Sydney Gibbes, met Anderson much later in Paris and denounced her as well. He was certain she was a fraud. "If that's Grand Duchess Anastasia," Gibbes exclaimed, "I'm a Chinaman." Anna Vyrubova, friend and confidante of Tsarina Alexandra, kept away refusing to become involved.

Other people who knew the young Anastasia quite well, like the Grand Duchess’s childhood nurse Alexandra (Shura) Tegleva failed to identify Anderson as Anastasia. Tegleva accompanied her husband, Gilliard, to meet with Anderson in 1925 and confirmed that Anderson's foot disorder, hallux valgus (bunions), was similar to that of the real Grand Duchess. "This is somewhat like Anastasia's body," she declared. Anderson asked Shura to cover her forehead with perfume, a ritual that Shura remembered from Anastasia's childhood when she wanted her nanny to "smell like a flower." {cn} "Shura", like many others, never made an official statement in support of Anna Anderson. However, the Empress Alexandra’s close friend Lili Dehn did identify her as Anastasia. [cn}

Prince Christopher of Greece, first cousin of Nicholas II, wrote about her in his memoirs, "Dozens of people who had known the Grand Duchess Anastasia were brought to see the girl in the hope that they might be able to identify her, but none of them could come to any definite conclusion. ... The poor girl was a pathetic figure in her loneliness and ill health, and it was comprehensible enough that many of those around her let their sympathy over-rule their logic. But at the same time there was little real evidence to substantiate her story. She was unable to recognise people whom the Grand Duchess Anastasia had known intimately, .."

Gleb Botkin and others

Few of Anna Anderson's supporters were more cunning, knowledgeable or influential than Gleb and his sister and Tatiana Botkin; nephew and niece of Serge Botkin and son and daughter of the Imperial Family's personal physician Dr Eugene Botkin who perished with his royal patients in the Ipatiev House in 1918. Gleb and Tatiana Botkin spent much of their youth near the Imperial Family. As such it's impossible that they were deceived by Anderson, they must have known she was a fraud and used her for their own aims. {cn) Gleb Botkin's uncle, Serge Botkin, presided over the Russian Refugee Office in Berlin. From the outset money was the principal objective, and Gleb Botkin became increasingly obsessed with tracing and claiming tsarist assets. He represented the interests of Russian exiles in Germany and came to the aid of Anderson. The organization was basically a monarchist support group and the suicidally depressed woman soon found herself embraced by sympathetic exiles, many sending or bringing her flowers, sweets and letters of encouragement. {cn} The Botkins were one of many possible sources of obscure information Anderson could recount as "memories" to astound friend and foe alike.

Gleb Botkin met Anna Anderson in 1928, and declared instantly she was Anastasia. He then he decided to take her with him to New York where he provided articles on Anderson to newspapers. In an effort to attract attention to Anderson, Botkin made repeated attacks on the sisters of Nicholas II and the Romanoff family in general. He deeply upset Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna, sister of Nicholas II. She wrote to her husband, Grand Duke Alexander Michaelovich about the matter and received a letter from him on November 20, 1928, "Thank you for your letter ... the vileness of Botkin, what a character, I am very ashamed for the Russian person. I will take advice from an American lawyer ..". Angered by the actions of Gleb Botkin, Grand Duke Cyril Vladimirovich wrote to Tatiana Botkin, "Your brother has completely ruined everything"

Tatiana Botkin wrote to Pierre Gilliard about Anna Anderson. He wrote back to her, "Neither Grand Duchess Olga, my wife, nor I could find the slightest resemblance between the invalid and Anastasia Nicolaievna." She also wrote to the Grand Duchess Olga who replied, "I have received your letter and hasten to reply. We took the matter very seriously, as is shown by the visits of the patient paid by old Volkov, twice by Mr.Gillard and his wife .... as well as by my husband and myself. However hard we tried to recognise this patient as my niece Tatiana or Anastasia, we all came away quite convinced of the reverse." Thirty years after having written to Grand Duchess Olga about his belief in Anderson, Grand Duke Andrei wrote again to her, "I have never formally stated my opinion on the matter, because I have never been entirely convinced ... The mystery remains unsolved ..."

Although no immediate relation of Nicholas II believed Anderson's claims, the continued saga was for many salt rubbed in an open wound. The Romanovs believed that Gleb Botkin and his accomplices were seeking monies, which they did not possess (the Dowager Empress relied on a pension from her nephew King George V and her daughter Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna lived in a grace and favour house also provided due to the kindness of King George V ) for their own ends and treated him with contempt. Grand Duke Alexander Michaelovich went one step further. He said, "Botkin and company will not let me alone, ... some sort of blackmail because they chose this way and nothing could stop them. But as I told you I before I have a lawyer and he will handle the case if they start an attack."

Grand Duke Andrew Vladmirovich, first cousin of Nicholas II, who had some contact with Anastasia before the revolution, met Anderson in 1928 before she set out to New York with Gleb Botkin. He wrote to his cousin Grand Duchess Olga, "There is for me no doubt; she is Anastasia." Prince Felix Yussopov, husband of Princess Irina of Russia, daughter of Grand Duchess Xenia, wrote to Grand Duke Andrei about Anna Anderson, "I claim categorically that she is not Anastasia Nicolaievna, but just an adventuress, a sick hysteric and a frightful playactress. I simply cannot understand how anyone can be in doubt of this. If you had seen her, I am convinced that you would recoil in horror at the thought that this frightful creature could be a daughter of our Tsar ... These false pretenders ought to be gathered up and sent to live in a house somewhere." The Tsar’s former mistress who married Grand Duke Andrei after the revolution, Mathilde Kschessinska met Anna Anderson towards the end of her life out of curiosity.

Certain people (in this case, Captain Felix Dassel) would question her, having trick questions such as “The billiard table was on the second floor” and Anna would reply, “You remember nothing. Billiard was on the first floor.” Prince Christopher of Greece commented on Anna Anderson's supposed knowledge of imperial residences that the Grand Duchess Anastasia knew extremely well, ".. her descriptions of rooms in different palaces and of other scenes familiar to any of the Imperial Family were often inaccurate."

Ernst Ludwig and Franziska Schankowska

At around the time when Anna was suffering from yet another severe illness, she claimed that, Alexandra's brother, Ernst Ludwig, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine, had been visiting Russia in 1916 during the First World War. The allegation, tantamount to treason, might have been revenge for his family's intense criticism and opposition to their activities. There has never been proof; travel documents, photographs or any tangible evidence to support the allegation. The only evidence ever produced was witness testimony solicited by Anderson's legal teams, which was dismissed as unsubstantiated hearsay by the courts. The Grand Duke's "supposed" trip, and the incident has been flatly denied repeatedly by the Hessian royal family. {cn}

Ernst Ludwig hired a private investigator to investigate her claims. It was strongly implied that she was a missing Polish factory worker, Franziska Schanzkowska, who had been injured from dropping a grenade in munitions factory where she worked. Anderson claimed they were from the execution which she barely escaped. Eyewitness testimonies recorded the brutal murder of Grand Duchess Anastasia.

To see if this story was true, the Danish Ambassador Zahle and Anderson supporter Harriet von Rathlef set up a meeting between Anderson and Franziska Schankowska's brother Felix. When Felix saw her from a distance, he declared, "That is my sister Franziska." At the end of the day, when asked to sign an affadavit, he, without explanation, changed his mind. "I will not sign it. That is definitely not my sister." He then pointed out several differences between his sister and Anna Anderson. Protocols from Dalldorf allege that she spoke Russian with the nurses. Nurse Erna Buchholz alleged that she "spoke Russian like a native." Later, she refused to speak Russian, and although she clearly understood it, she would only respond in German. She explained her unwillingness to speak Russian by saying that she was unwilling to use the language spoken by the people who murdered her family, as they were not allowed to speak any other language in the Ipatiev House. There are some who claim she overcame her fear of speaking Russian in the late 30's, and spoke it "fluently" with Professor Rudnev and her lawyer's assistant. Prince Christopher of Greece refuted this, "In the first place she was unable to speak Russian, which the Grand Duchess Anastasia, like all the Czar's children, had talked fluently, and would only converse in German."

Anna Anderson vs. Relatives of Grand Duchess Anastasia

In 1938, Anderson's lawyer initiated a suit in German courts to claim an inheritance which was handed out to relatives of Empress Alexandra who declared all the Imperial family to be dead. Anderson’s lawyers declared that Grand Duchess Anastasia was still alive. Her supporters fought valiantly for her claim. Experts were called to compare the features of Anna Anderson with the Tsar's daughter. Her ear was declared by an expert, Moritz Furtmayr, to be identical in 17 anatomical points to Anastasia's, and her handwriting was declared by Dr. Minna Becker to be identical to that of the Grand Duchess. {cn} Anderson's legal teams, like their opposition, were articulate and well organized. German Courts heard an almost endless procession of handwriting experts, historians and forensic scientists scrutinizing photographs and documents usually contradicting opposing depositions. Her opponents including Anastasia's first cousin,Lord Mountbatten, nephew of Tsarina Alexandra and the Grand Duke of Hesse, fought just as hard, to prove she was the missing Polish factory worker, Franziska Schanzkowska.

As early as 1928, twenty-four hours after the Dowager Empress's death a statement signed by twelve Romanovs and three of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna's family was relased making their views abundantly clear, It was their, "unanimous conviction that the person currently living in the United States is not the daughter of the Tsar." The signatories were: Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna, Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna and her six sons and her daughter, Princess Irina, Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich, Grand Duchess Marie Pavlovna, the Grand Duke of Hesse and his sisters Princess Irene of Prussia and Victoria, Dowager Marchioness of Milford-Haven. To the end of his life in 1979, Lord Mountbatten and other members of various royal families believed this to be the case. It was a case of family honor. For both the Tsar's sisters, Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna and Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna, and their mother, Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna, their main concern was the honour and integrity of the Romanov dynasty.

Michael Romanoff, Prince of Russia, the grandson of the Grand Duchess Xenia and Grand Duke Alexander, great grandson of Tsar Alexander III and great nephew of Tsar Nicholas II, commented on the situation, "From the very beginning of the affair it was obvious to my family Anna Anderson was an impostor, that there were dubious people and motives behind her claims, but few would listen to our protestations at the time. We were a very closeknit family in exile and I remember as a youth listening to several conversations between my grandmother, Grand Duchess Xenia, relatives and friends. All were appalled by the claims being made by the hordes of impostors, there were just so many people claiming to be Ekaterinburg survivors. Several members of my family or representatives went to see Anna Anderson during the early days and dismissed her claims, were amazed anyone could seriously believe a woman unable to speak Russian or answer specific questions about the lives of the Imperial Family could be the daughter of Nicholas II. My family looked upon Anderson and the three ringed circus which danced around her, creating books and movies, as a vulgar insult to the memory of the Imperial Family."

Another relative, Prince Rotislav Romanov, after the announcement of the DNA evidence, stated, "There has never been a shadow of a doubt. My father was raised with Anastasia, and this woman would never see him."

The legal case dragged out until 1970, when the court determined that she had not proven herself to be the Grand Duchess, nor had the identity been disproven. Grand Duchess Xiena Alexandrovna gave written evidence to the trial on March 16, 1958. She wrote, "This is to state that I am convinced that Mrs Anderson or Tchiakovsky is an imposter. I believe in the statement my sister the Grand Duchess Olga, made in 1925 that this woman was not Anastasia. I also believe in the statements made by my son-in-law Prince Felix Youssoupoff, the Baroness Buxhoevedeb and M. and Mme Gilliard." Dr. Gunther Von Berenberg-Gossler, was the attorney appointed in 1955 to oppose Anderson's claims on behalf of the Swedish and British royal families with the financial backing of Lord Mountbatten. In an interview Dr. Von Berenberg-Gossler stated, "From the very start of my involvement in the case it was clear to me Anna Anderson was Franziska Schanzkowska,... her true identity was never in question to me, there was abundant evidence, including blood tests and testimony from her sister Gertrude Schanzkowska. So in 1994 when I received word DNA tests conducted in Britain and the United States had proven this I was pleased but not moved, it was old news to me."

It is worth noting that apart from Anna Anderson, Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandra had deal with other 'Anastasia' imposters. One was Mrs Eugenia Smith. Baroness Buxhoeveden made a report for her, "I found no likeness whatsoever to the Grand Duchess physically ... although a total stranger, she is sympathetic on the whole, but seemed to be labouring under a mental delusion."

Marriage and death

After moving to the United States in 1928, Anderson lived for several months on Long Island with Mrs. William B. Leeds (born Princess Xenia Georgievna Romanova of Russia), a daughter of Grand Duke George Mihailovich of Russia and Princess Maria Georgievna of Greece and Denmark, until she was asked to leave. Prince Christopher of Greece described the stay, "She stayed with my niece, ... who showed her the greatest kindness, Then her treatment of the Grand Duchess Xiena, sister of the last Tsar, led to a quarrel with William Leeds, who turned her out of the house." When she later came to live in the Garden City Hotel on Long Island, she booked in as Mrs. Eugene Anderson to avoid the press. {cn} From 1947 to 1968 she lived in Bad Liebenzell-Unterlengenhardt, a small village in the Black Forest near Stuttgart. {cn} In 1968 upon returning to the U.S., Anderson, around the age of 70, married an eccentric American supporter John Eacott Manahan, age 49. The couple lived in relative squalor in Charlottesville, Virginia, where she died of pneumonia in 1984. Her body was cremated according to her wishes.

DNA tests

In 1991, the bodies of the royal family were exhumed, and it was discovered that the bodies of Alexei, and one of his sisters, Maria, were not in the grave. The mitochondrial DNA of the bones unearthed from a forest grave, presumed to be those of Alexandra and three of her daughters, were compared to that of the Duke of Edinburgh, whose maternal grandmother Princess Victoria of Hesse and the Rhine was a sister of Alexandra. This proved to be a match.

It was discovered that there existed Anastasia Manahan tissue at Martha Jefferson Hospital. Anderson’s DNA was compared with those of the Romanovs, at the suggestion of Marina Botkin Schweitzer, the daughter of Gleb Botkin. "At the time that they identified the bodies of the Imperial Family, I thought we should do the same for the Grand Duchess," she said.

Anderson’s DNA sample did not match that of the Duke of Edinburgh or that of the bones, meaning that the tissue sample tested belonging to Anderson, could not have belonged to Anastasia. At the press conference, Dr. Peter Gill stated, “If one accepts that this sample is from Anna Anderson, then it is almost impossible that she could have been Anastasia.” Subsequent comparisons with DNA samples provided by Franziska Schanzkowska's great nephew Karl Maucher proved German newspaper reports of the 1920's identifying her as Franziska Schanzkowska had been correct all along.

There were also several strands of hair tested which produced the same mtDNA sequence as the tissue. The hair came from a woman who claimed she found the hair at a used bookstore in Charlottesville, Virginia. Inside a book which belonged to Jack Manahan, there was an envelope which read "Anastasia's hair". Inside were several strands of hair which she gave to Anderson biographer Peter Kurth. He in turn gave them to a BBC reporter who in turn transferred them to Aldermaston for DNA testing. The hair did not match that of the Romanov remains.

Dr. Terry Melton is one of the worlds most distinguished geneticists and President of Mitotyping Technologies, LLC at Pennsylvania State University. He made a study to see how unusual the sequence from Anna Anderson and Franziska Schankowska's great nephew Karl Maucher is in the general population. On July 3, 1999 he conducted a new search for this sequence in the recently updated database maintained by the Armed Forces DNA Identification Lab that is used by all of us doing Mitochondrial DNA forensic casework. The sequence is still unique, although the database is substantially larger than it was four years ago. Dr.Melton stated, "We we can have increased confidence that Anderson was indeed Franziska Schanzkowska after all".

Commenting on the outcome of the DNA tests Prince Michael Romanoff, grandson of Grand Duchess Xiena (sister of Nicholas II), said, "I remember the day I heard DNA tests had proven beyond conjecture Anna Anderson wasn't the Grand Duchess Anastasia, just another in a long and undistinguished like of fakes. Of course it came as no surprise!, it only validated what my family had been saying for 60 years and now people were finally paying attention".

Supporters attempt to cling to hope

The DNA tests came as an unexpected shock to those involved with Anastasia Manahan. Few who had known her were willing to accept that this woman was a Polish girl who had been working in the factories and then miraculously became a Grand Duchess. They argue that she could not have known so much about the Imperial family’s life, and have so much inside knowledge of the imperial family, and could not reconcile their impressions of Anna Anderson with having been a Polish peasant born in the late 19th century, when, they say, class distinctions were so great.

After Gill had announced his results, Richard Sweitzer stated even when evidence proved otherwise, "I know one thing. Anastasia was not a Polish peasant."

The only surviving photograph of Schanzkowska was taken at the age of 16 and shows an attractive, bright eyed, obviously intelligent young woman not an uncouth peasant. Her childhood friends remembered her as pretentious, putting on airs and graces. She probably taught herself etiquette and deportment, like socially ambitious girls of her class and generation.

Richard Sweitzer also suggested a possible switch of the intestines, one in which false results would emerge. He alleged that for a period of months during 1992-93, the tissue could not be located. This claim has been repeatedly denied by the hospital authorities as being totally without any form of legal substance.

In spite of the DNA evidence , Anderson's supporters have attempted to point out differences between Franziska Schanzkowska and Anna Anderson, such as the languages they spoke. Anna Anderson supposedly could speak and read fluently in English and French, languages Franziska's family did not know. This of course had been refuted by Pierre Gilliard who knew the real Grand Duchess Anastasia as his personal pupil. The same Gilliard also announced to the world that Anastasia did not speak German. A lie, since he himself scheduled the Grand Duchesses for German lessons while in Tobolsk. [cn} Franziska's siblings did not understand a word of Russian when spoken to them. Anna Anderson supposedly "understood" Russian "perfectly" although she responded in bad German. Franziska's family spoke passable peasant German.

Peter Kurth, a long time supporter of Anna Anderson, never wavered in his personal belief that she was Anastasia. "The DNA tests have won the hour, and will probably stand as the final word on the case that has left everyone who came near it, for or against, with a sense of tragedy and persisting, nagging doubts." He added, "No one doubted that whoever she was, she had been traumatised."

Historian Robert Massie wrote, "The pathetic story of Mrs Anna Anderson's lifelong attempt to prove herself to be the Grand Duchess Anastasia has become world famous. Nevertheless, she has been challenged by numerous other Anastasias living in far corners of the globe."

Anna Anderson - A Russian Viewpoint

Two men responsible for the initial discovery of the Romanov remains, Geli Ryabov and Alexander Advonin have no doubt that all of Nicholas II and Alexandra's family perished in the Ipatiev House in Ekaterinburg. Commenting on the possibility that Anastasia may have survived in the guise of Anderson, Ryabov declared, "We have no instances of the Communists ever, anywhere, having mercy on anyone. If people understood that, it would not occur to them that Communists could let a member of the Emperor's family survive. It's simply impossible." Advodin went further, "All the people taken into Ipatiev's House were shot. I think Anna Anderson could be Anastasia, but only if Anastasia had not gone into that house. We know that everyone who went into that house was killed, including Anastasia." He went on to state "There are many Anastasia's and Alexeis out here, now and in the past. Now, I think, two Alexeis are alive. But if Alexei survived, there should be just one. But there are two of them and many more. There were more Anastasias. Anastasias children live here now, says one. She died in the fifties and was buried in Omsk. She was Anastasia Spiridovna. Anna Anderson was another pretender from the United States. Who is the real Anastasia? If Anastasia survived, there should be just one pretender, same with Alexei, So more than one means we here in Russia consider them all false."

Anna in popular culture

In 1928, a film was made based very loosely on the woman who would one day be called "Anna Anderson" in 1928. It was a silent film called "Clothes Make the Woman".

In 1956 there was a film made about a figure based on Anna Anderson, Anastasia, starring Ingrid Bergman as Anna/Anastasia, and Yul Brynner; however, this film is highly fictionalized.

NBC ran a two-part fictionalized mini-series titled "Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna" which starred Amy Irving and won her a Golden Globe nomination. It was based on a biography written by long time Anna Anderson supporter Peter Kurth.

Kevin Hearn of the band Barenaked Ladies wrote a song called "Anna, Anastasia" for his solo album H-Wing.

Prince Michael Romanoff in an interview commented on the books and movies made about "Anastasia", "My family looked upon Anderson and the three ringed circus which danced around her, creating books and movies, as a vulgar insult to the memory of the Imperial Family".

References

1. Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna.1986.
2. Identification of the remains of the Romanov family by DNA analysis by Peter Gill, Central Research and Support Establishment, Forensic Science Service, Aldermaston, Reading, Berkshire, RG7 4PN, UK, Pavel L. Ivanov, Engelhardt Institute of Molecular Biology, Russian Academy of Sciences, 117984, Moscow, Russia, Colin Kimpton, Romelle Piercy, Nicola Benson, Gillian Tully, Ian Evett, Kevin Sullivan, Forensic Science Service, Priory House, Gooch Street North, Birmingham B5 6QQ, UK, Erika Hagelberg, University of Cambridge, Department of Biological Anthropology, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3DZ, UK - http://www.nature.com/ng/journal/v6/n2/abs/ng0294-130.html
3. Once A Grand Duchess: Xiena, Sister of Nicholas II by John Van Der Kiste & Coryne Hall, p.174
4. The Fate of the Romanovs by Greg King and Penny Wilson, p.311
5. ibid
6. Tsar by Peter Kurth, p.210
7. ibid
8. Nicholas and Alexandra by Robert Massie, pp.546-547
9. The Fate of the Romanovs by Greg King, pp.299-300
10. Anastasia by Peter Kurth, p.85
11. ibid
12. ibid, p.87
13. Anastasia : The Unmasking of Anna Anderson, "The European Royal History Journal", Issue VI: August 1998., Arturo Beeche, Publisher, Oakland, Ca. pp. 3-8.
14. Little Mother of Russia by Coryne Hall, p.342
15. Always A Grand Duke by Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich (son-in-law of Dowager Empress Marie) p.212
16. Memoris of HRH Prince Christopher of Greece, p.218
17. Tsar by Peter Kurth, p.214
18. ibid
19. Memoirs of HRH Prince Christopher of Greece, p.218
20. Anastasia : The Unmasking of Anna Anderson, "The European Royal History Journal", Issue VI: August 1998., Arturo Beeche, Publisher, Oakland, Ca. pp. 3-8.
21. ibid
22. Anastasia : The Unmasking of Anna Anderson, "The European Royal History Journal", Issue VI: August 1998., Arturo Beeche, Publisher, Oakland, Ca. pp. 3-8.
23. Once A Grand Duchess: Xiena, Sister of Nicholas II, pp.183-184
24. ibid, p.185
25. ibid
26. Anastasia by Peter Kurth, p.195
27. ibid
28. Anastasia by Peter Kurth, p.461
29. Once A Grand Duchess: Xenia, Sister Of Nicholas II, p.166
30. ibid, p.185
31. Once A Grand Duchess: Xenia, Sister Of Nicholas II, p.189
32. Anastasia by Peter Kurth, p.272
33. Letter of Prince Felix Yussopov to Grand Duke Andrei, 19 September 1927
34. Anastasia by Peter Kurth, p.461
35. Memoirs of HRH Prince Christopher of Greece, p.218
36. Once A Grand Duchess: Xenia, Sister of Nicholas II, p.183
37. Unmasking Anna Anderson by John Godl
38. The Fate of the Romanovs
39. Notes of Frau von Rahlef, 19 June-4 July 1925
40. Anastasia by Peter Kurth, p.35
41. Memoirs of HRH Prince Christopher of Greece, pp.217-218
42. Once A Grand Duchess: Xiena, Sister of Nicholas II, p.174
43. Once A Grand Duchess: Xiena, Sister of Nicholas II, p.183
44. Tsar by Peter Kurth p.213
45. A Royal Family, p.203
46. Once A Grand Duchess: Xiena, Sister of Nicholas II, p.175
47. Remembering Anna Anderson by John Godl
48. Anna Anderson aka Anna Tchiakovski - http://anomalyinfo.com/articles/sa00021b.shtml
49. Once A Grand Duchess: Xenia, Sister of Nicholas II, p.233
50. ibid
51. Once A Grand Duchess: Xenia, Sister of Nicholas II, p.233
52. Once A Grand Duchess: Xenia, Sister of Nicholas II, pp.183-184
53. Memoirs of HRH Prince Christopher of Greece, p.223
54. A Royal Family, p.203
55. Identification of the remains of the Romanov family by DNA analysis by Peter Gill, Central Research and Support Establishment, Forensic Science Service, Aldermaston, Reading, Berkshire, RG7 4PN, UK, Pavel L. Ivanov, Engelhardt Institute of Molecular Biology, Russian Academy of Sciences, 117984, Moscow, Russia, Colin Kimpton, Romelle Piercy, Nicola Benson, Gillian Tully, Ian Evett, Kevin Sullivan, Forensic Science Service, Priory House, Gooch Street North, Birmingham B5 6QQ, UK, Erika Hagelberg, University of Cambridge, Department of Biological Anthropology, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3DZ, UK - http://www.nature.com/ng/journal/v6/n2/abs/ng0294-130.html
56. Identification of the remains of the Romanov family by DNA analysis by Peter Gill, Central Research and Support Establishment, Forensic Science Service, Aldermaston, Reading, Berkshire - http://www.nature.com/ng/journal/v6/n2/abs/ng0294-130.html
57. Anastasia : The Unmasking of Anna Anderson, "The European Royal History Journal", Issue VI: August 1998., Arturo Beeche, Publisher, Oakland, Ca. pp. 3-8.
58. Tsar by Peter Kurth, p.218
59. Remembering Anna Anderson by John Godl - http://www.serfes.org/royal/rememberingAnnaAnderson.htm
60. ibid
61. Anastasia : The Unmasking of Anna Anderson, "The European Royal History Journal", Issue VI: August 1998., Arturo Beeche, Publisher, Oakland, Ca. pp. 3-8.
62. Anastasia : The Unmasking of Anna Anderson, "The European Royal History Journal", Issue VI: August 1998., Arturo Beeche, Publisher, Oakland, Ca. pp. 3-8.
63. Tsar by Peter Kurth, p.218
64. ibid p.212
65. Nicholas and Alexandra by Robert Massie, p.556
66. The Fate of the Romanovs, King and Wilson, p.435
67. ibid, p.437
68. ibid
69. Remembering Anna Anderson by John Godl

Books, Letters and Articles

• Romanov, Alexander Mikhailovich, Grand Duke (1933). Always A Grand Duke. Cassell. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
• Greece, Christopher, Prince (1938). Memoirs of HRH Prince Christopher of Greece. London: The Right Book Club. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
• Hall, Coryne (1999). Little Mother of Russia - A Biography of Empress Marie Feodorovna. London: Shepheard-Walwyn (Publishers) Ltd. ISBN 0 85683 177 8. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
• Van Der Kiste, John (2002). Once A Grand Duchess: Xiena, Sister of Nicholas II. Phoenix Mill: Sutton Publishing. ISBN 0 7509 2749 6. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
• King, Greg (2003). The Fate of the Romanovs. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
• Kurth, Peter (1995). Anastasia: The Life of Anna Anderson. Pimlico. ISBN 0-7126-5954-4. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
• Kurth, Peter (1997?). Anastasia: The Riddle of Anna Anderson. Back Bay. ISBN 0-316-50717-2. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
• Kurth, Peter (19957). Tsar. Toronto: Little, Brown and Company. ISBN 0-316-50787-3. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
• Lovell, James Blair (1998). Anastasia: The Lost Princess. Robson. ISBN 0-86051-807-8. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
• Lerche, Anna (2003). A Royal Family : The Story Of Christian IX And His European Descendants. Egmont Lademann A/S Denmark. ISBN 87-15-10957-7. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
• Klier, John (1999). The Quest for Anastasia: Solving the Mystery of the Lost Romanovs. Citadel. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
• Massie, Robert K. (1971). Nicholas and Alexandra. London: Pan Books. ISBN 0 330 02213 X. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
• Massie, Robert K. (1995). The Romanovs: The Final Chapter. Secaucus, NJ: Carol. ISBN 0-8065-2064-7. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
• Godl, John (August 1998). Remembering Anna Anderson. "The European Royal History Journal", Issue VI: August 1998., Arturo Beeche, Publisher, Oakland,. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link)
• Von Rahl, Frau (19 June-4 July1925 ). The Notes of Frau Von Rahl. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
• Yussopov, Felix, Prince (19 September 1927). Letter of Prince Felix Yussopov to Grand Duke Andrei,. Hamburg. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

External links

• Article by Peter Kurth — Anna Anderson’s biographer tells why he doesn't believe Anna Anderson was Franziska Schanzkowska.
• Russian Forensics - A site demonstrating the Russian agenda to prove Anastasia's remains were in the grave.
• Article by Rey Barry — Journalist Rey Barry — friend of Anna Anderson and Jack Manahan, and a supporter of her claims.
• Anastasia: Duchess in Disguise — another website arguing that photographs of Anna Anderson look like Anastasia.
• Anastasia and Anna Anderson — A narrative of Anastasia’s death.
• Anna Anderson/ Anastasia Manahan — A paper written by a supporter with a list of reasons why they believe that Anna Anderson was Anastasia.
• Anastasia: The Truth - A website correcting misstatements recently made about Anastasia and Anna Anderson.
• Could Anna Anderson be Anastasia? - A web site discussing the DNA tests done on Anna Anderson.
• Anastasia: The Unmasking Of Anna Anderson - An online article on Anna Anderson and her claim.

• Pretenders to the Russian throne
• Impostor pretenders
• Mysterious people
• 1900 births
• 1984 deaths