The Resurrection of the Romanovs Read online

  And finally, a word about Darmstadt. Our thanks go to Heiner Jerofsky, Direktor von Presse und Offentlichkeitsarbeit for the Darmstadt Police Archives, who allowed us unrestricted access to the files assembled on Anna Anderson in the 1920s following the investigation into her claim by Grand Duke Ernst Ludwig. We also thank Prince Moritz of Hesse for so graciously allowing us free access to the materials in the Staatsarchiv, Darmstadt, on the Anderson case, including personal family papers and letters, access facilitated, encouraged, and furthered by the extraordinary and generous Professor Dr. Eckhart Franz. As director of the Staatsarchiv, Professor Franz not only helped us at every turn, beginning in our momentous summer of 2000, but also did so in ways we never could have expected, ensuring not just that we could consult every single piece of documentation amassed over more than fifty years, but also that we were able to have our own copies of this unique assemblage. It was an unexpected gift, one made on behalf of a family that trusted us when they had every reason to be suspicious, especially after decades in which many of Anderson’s supporters portrayed Grand Duke Ernst Ludwig of Hesse and his involvement in her case in the worst possible light. If nothing else, hopefully this book helps right some of the wrongs done by one of the twentieth century’s most pervasive myths.

  Cast of Principal Characters

  THE IMPERIAL FAMILY

  Nicholas II (1868–1918), last Russian emperor, reigned 1894–1917

  Alexandra (1872–1918), empress and consort of Nicholas II, born Princess Alix of Hesse und bei Rhein

  Alexei (1904–1918), tsesarevich and heir to the Russian throne, only son of Nicholas and Alexandra

  Olga Nikolaievna (1895–1918), grand duchess and eldest daughter of Nicholas and Alexandra

  Tatiana Nikolaievna (1897–1918), grand duchess and second daughter of Nicholas and Alexandra

  Marie Nikolaievna (1899–1918), grand duchess and third daughter of Nicholas and Alexandra

  Anastasia Nikolaievna (1901–1918), grand duchess and fourth and youngest daughter of Nicholas and Alexandra

  THE HOUSE OF ROMANOV

  Alexander Mikhailovich (1866–1933), grand duke, second cousin to Nicholas II, and husband to Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna

  Andrei Vladimirovich (1879–1956), grand duke, first cousin to Nicholas II; married (1921) former ballerina Mathilde Kschessinska, onetime mistress to Nicholas II; investigated Anderson’s claim

  Felix Felixovich Yusupov (1887–1967), prince, Rasputin’s principal assassin; married (1914) to Princess Irina Alexandrovna (1895–1970), only daughter of Xenia Alexandrovna and Alexander Mikhailovich

  Kirill Vladimirovich (1876–1938), grand duke, first cousin to Nicholas II; married (1905) Princess Victoria Melita (“Ducky”), divorced wife of Empress Alexandra’s only surviving brother, Grand Duke Ernst Ludwig of Hesse; rightful heir to the Russian throne

  Marie Feodorovna (1847–1928), dowager empress of Russia, widow of Alexander III, and mother of Nicholas II; born Princess Dagmar, daughter of King Christian IX of Denmark

  Nina Georgievna (1901–1974), princess of Russia, eldest daughter of Grand Duke George Mikhailovich; married (1922) Prince Paul Chavchavadze, mother of Prince David Chavchavadze

  Olga Alexandrovna (1883–1960), grand duchess, youngest sister of Nicholas II, favorite aunt of Anastasia; married Prince Peter of Oldenburg (marriage annulled); married Colonel Nicholas Kulikovsky

  Xenia Alexandrovna (1875–1960), grand duchess, eldest sister of Nicholas II, wife of Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich, and mother-in-law of Prince Felix Yusupov

  Xenia Georgievna (1903–1965), princess of Russia, youngest daughter of Grand Duke George Mikhailovich; married William Leeds (divorced 1930); married Herman Jud (1946); mother of Nancy Leeds Wynkoop; hosted Anderson in 1928 at her Long Island estate, Kenwood

  ANASTASIA’S ROYAL RELATIVES

  Ernst Ludwig (1868–1937), last grand duke of Hesse und bei Rhein, only surviving brother of Empress Alexandra; married Princess Victoria Melita (“Ducky”) (1894, divorced 1901); married Princess Eleonore of Solms-Hohensolms-Lich

  Irene (1866–1953), Princess Heinrich of Prussia, born Princess Irene of Hesse und bei Rhein, sister of Empress Alexandra, married to Prince Heinrich of Prussia, younger brother of Kaiser Wilhelm II

  Sigismund (1896–1978), prince of Prussia, second son of Princess Irene and Prince Heinrich, married to Princess Charlotte-Agnes of Saxe-Altenburg, sister of Prince Friedrich of Saxe-Altenburg

  Victoria (1863–1950), marchioness of Milford Haven (after 1917), born Princess Victoria of Hesse und bei Rhein, eldest sister of Empress Alexandra, mother of Lord Louis Mountbatten, grandmother of Prince Philip, duke of Edinburgh

  MEMBERS OF THE RUSSIAN IMPERIAL COURT, SUITE, AND HOUSEHOLD

  Buxhoeveden, Baroness Sophie (1884–1956), kamer-freilina (personal lady-in-waiting) to Empress Alexandra from 1913

  Gibbes, Charles Sidney (1876–1963), English tutor to the imperial children

  Gilliard, Pierre (1879–1962), tutor of the French language to the imperial children; married (1919) the imperial children’s former nursery maid Alexandra Tegleva

  Mordvinov, Colonel Anatole, former adjutant to Nicholas II

  Sablin, Captain Nicholas, former officer aboard the imperial yacht Standart

  Tegleva, Alexandra (“Shura”) (died 1955), former nursery maid to the imperial children; married Pierre Gilliard in 1919

  Volkov, Alexei (1868–1929), former valet de chambre to the empress

  MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS

  Barfknecht, Emilie, nurse at Dalldorf Asylum, Berlin

  Bonhoeffer, Dr. Karl, treated Anna Anderson at the Mommsen Clinic, Berlin

  Buchholz, Erna, nurse at Dalldorf Asylum, Berlin

  Eitel, Dr. Theodore, specialist in internal medicine, treated Anna Anderson at the Stillachhaus Sanatorium at Oberstdorf in Bavaria, 1926–1927

  Kastritsky, Professor Serge, former court dentist to Nicholas II

  Malinovsky, Anna (Thea), later Chemnitz, nurse at Dalldorf Asylum, Berlin

  Nobel, Dr. Lothar, director of Mommsen Clinic, Berlin

  Rudnev, Professor Serge, Russian émigré tubercular specialist, treated Anna Anderson 1925–1926

  Walz, Bertha, nurse at Dalldorf Asylum, Berlin

  Willige, Dr. Hans, director of the Ilten Asylum near Hannover, treated Anna Anderson 1931–1932

  LAWYERS IN THE ANNA ANDERSON CASE

  Berenberg-Gossler, Dr. Gunther von (1901–2001), lawyer for Barbara, Duchess Christian Ludwig of Mecklenburg, in the Anderson civil trial and appeals

  Fallows, Edward, Anna Anderson’s American lawyer, 1928–1940

  Krampff, Dr. Hans Hermann, lawyer for Prince Ludwig of Hesse in the Anderson civil trial and appeals

  Leverkuehn, Dr. Paul, with Kurt Vermehren Anna Anderson’s German lawyer, 1938–1960

  Stackelberg, Dr. Baron Curt von, lawyer who headed Anna Anderson’s 1970 appeal to the West German Federal Supreme Court

  Vermehren, Dr. Kurt, with Paul Leverkuehn Anna Anderson’s German lawyer, 1938–1962

  Wollmann, Carl August, from 1962 lawyer for Anna Anderson’s appeals

  INTERESTED PARTIES

  Auclères, Dominique, reporter for Le Figaro, covered the Anderson civil suit

  Botkin, Gleb (1900–1969), youngest son of court physician Dr. Eugene Botkin, who was murdered with the Romanovs

  Botkin, Serge (died 1945), first cousin to Dr. Eugene Botkin, president of the Office of Russian Refugees in Berlin

  Botkin, Tatiana (1898–1986), only daughter of court physician Dr. Eugene Botkin, who was murdered with the Romanovs; married (1918) Konstantin Melnik

  Burkhart, Susan (née Grindstaff ), owner of Anna Anderson hair sample tested for DNA in 1994

  Cecilie, crown princess of Prussia (1886–1954), married to Crown Prince Friedrich Wilhelm of Prussia, eldest son and heir of Kaiser Wilhelm II

  Dassel, Captain Felix (died 1958), former patient in the Tsarskoye Selo hospital operated by Grand D
uchesses Marie and Anastasia Nikolaievna during the First World War

  Dehn, Lili von (1888–1963), close friend of Empress Alexandra

  Friedrich Ernst, Prince of Saxe-Altenburg (1905–1985), distantly related to the Romanovs; acted as legal adviser for Anna Anderson from 1949; his sister Charlotte-Agnes married Prince Sigismund of Prussia

  Grunberg, Inspector Franz, Berlin Police official, sheltered Anna Anderson 1922–1924

  Hardenberg, Count Kuno von, former marshal of Grand Duke Ernst Ludwig’s court

  Horan, Brien Purcell, American lawyer and Anderson case historian

  Jennings, Annie Burr, heiress who periodically sheltered Anna Anderson 1928–1930 in New York

  Kleist, Baron Arthur von, former provincial police chief in Poland, periodically sheltered Anna Anderson 1922–1924 in Berlin, recorded her early alleged memories

  Kleist, Baroness Gerda von, youngest of four daughters of Baron and Baroness von Kleist

  Kleist, Baroness Marie von (née Grotthaus), wife of Baron Arthur von Kleist

  Klemenz, Vera von, music teacher at Schloss Seeon in Bavaria

  Knopf, Martin (born 1891), private bank detective in Berlin, hired by Count Kuno von Hardenberg on behalf of Grand Duke Ernst Ludwig to investigate Anna Anderson’s claim, worked with the Scherl Press in Berlin

  Kurth, Peter, Anna Anderson’s biographer

  Lavington, Faith, English tutor at Schloss Seeon

  Leuchtenberg, Duke Georg Nikolaievich de Beauharnais (1872–1929), distantly related to the Romanovs; married (1895) to Princess Olga Repnin-Volkonsky (1872–1953); sheltered Anna Anderson at his Bavarian estate, Schloss Seeon, 1927–1928

  Leuchtenberg, Duchess Elena (1896–1977), eldest daughter of Duke Georg of Leuchtenberg

  Leuchtenberg, Duke Dimitri (1898–1972), eldest son of Duke Georg of Leuchtenberg, married (1921) Catherine (1900–1991)

  Leuchtenberg, Duchess Nathalia (1900), daughter of Duke Georg of Leuchtenberg, married (1924) Baron Vladimir Meller-Zakomelsky

  Leuchtenberg, Duchess Tamara (1901–1978), daughter of Duke Georg of Leuchtenberg

  Leuchtenberg, Duke Konstantin (1905–1983), son of Duke Georg of Leuchtenberg

  Lilburn, Ian, historian and expert on the Anna Anderson case

  Lücke, Fritz, editor of the Scherl Press in Berlin, publisher of papers Die Woche and Berliner Nachtausgabe, worked with Martin Knopf to investigate Anna Anderson’s claim

  Ludwig, Prince of Hesse und bei Rhein (1908–1968), youngest son and only surviving heir of Grand Duke Ernst Ludwig and Anastasia’s first cousin; voluntarily joined as a defendant in Anderson’s civil suit against Barbara, Duchess Christian Ludwig of Mecklenburg

  Manahan, John E. (“Jack”) (1919–1990), married Anna Anderson in 1968

  Mecklenburg, Princess Barbara of Prussia, Duchess Christian Ludwig of (1920–1994), granddaughter and adopted heir of Princess Irene, Princess Heinrich of Prussia, and daughter of Prince Sigismund of Prussia, principal defendant in Anderson’s civil suit

  Miliukov, Alexei, Russian émigré, friend of Gleb Botkin, chronicler of Anna Anderson’s conversations in the 1960s

  Mountbatten of Burma, Lord Louis (1900–1979), youngest son of Empress Alexandra’s sister Victoria, first cousin to Anastasia; helped finance legal opposition to Anna Anderson’s civil case

  Osten-Sacken, Baron Vassili, deputy to Serge Botkin at the Office of Russian Refuges in Berlin

  Peuthert, Marie Clara (born Meissen, 1871–1933), patient at Dalldorf Asylum, Berlin

  Rathlef-Keilmann, Harriet von (1887–1933), sculptor by profession, looked after Anna Anderson 1925–1926, author of the first book on the claimant

  Remy, Maurice Philip, German documentary producer, involved in 1993–1994 legal battle over testing Anna Anderson’s tissue samples

  Schwabe, Captain Nicholas von, former officer in Dowager Empress Marie Feodorovna’s Cuirassier Life Guards Regiment, member of the émigré Monarchist Council in Berlin; he and his wife, Alice, periodically sheltered Anna Anderson 1922–1924

  Schweitzer, Marina, née Botkin, daughter of Gleb Botkin; with her husband, attorney Richard Schweitzer, arranged and paid for the 1994 DNA tests on Anna Anderson’s tissue samples

  Schweitzer, Richard, husband of Marina Botkin Schweitzer; arranged and paid for the 1994 DNA tests on Anna Anderson’s tissue sample

  Spindler, Gertrude, friend of Harriet von Rathlef-Keilmann and Anna Anderson supporter; investigated her claim to have stayed in Bucharest

  Tolstoy, Zenaide, aristocratic friend to the imperial family at Tsarskoye Selo

  Wasserschleben, Agnes, former matron at Stillachhaus, tended to Anna Anderson at Schloss Seeon

  Zahle, Herluf (1873–1941), Danish Minister in Berlin, temporary president of the League of Nations, 1928–1929

  MODERN SCIENTISTS

  Coble, Dr. Michael, formerly of the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory, now Forensic Biologist at the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Gaithersburg, Maryland, helped identify the Romanov remains uncovered in 2007; conducted new DNA testing on Anna Anderson hair samples in 2010

  Podini, Dr. Daniele, professor at George Washington University, conducted (with Dr. Michael Coble) new DNA tests on Anna Anderson hair samples in 2010

  Gill, Dr. Peter, formerly of the British Home Office’s Forensic Science Services Laboratory, head of the team that conducted 1993–1994 DNA tests on both the exhumed Romanov remains and on tissue and hair samples from Anna Anderson

  Mandelbaum, Dr. Syd, geneticist who made first inquiry about Anna Anderson tissue samples; arranged for testing of Susan Grindstaf Burkhart’s hair sample

  Melton, Dr. Terry, with Dr. Mark Stoneking, conducted DNA tests on the Anna Anderson hair samples at Pennsylvania State University

  Stoneking, Dr. Mark, with Dr. Terry Melton, conducted DNA tests on the Anna Anderson hair samples at Pennsylvania State University

  Weedn, Dr. Victor, conducted privately commissioned DNA tests for Richard and Marina Schweitzer on the Anna Anderson tissue sample at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology in Maryland

  THE SCHANZKOWSKY FAMILY

  Anton Czenstkowski (1842–April 13, 1912), Franziska’s father; married Josefina Peek in 1890 (died 1892); married Marianna Witzke in 1894

  Marianna Witzke (1866–December 20, 1932), Franziska’s mother; married Anton Czenstkowski in 1894; married Herr Knopf in 1913

  Martin Christian Czenstkowksi (born November 16, 1895, in Borowilhas, West Prussia), first child of Anton and Marianna, died in infancy

  Franziska Anna Czenstkowski (later Schanzkowska) (born December 16, 1896, in Borowilhas, West Prussia), second child and first daughter of Anton and Marianna

  Gertrude Czenstkowski (born November 12, 1898, in Zukovken, West Prussia), third child of Anton and Marianna; married (1926) August Ellerik; daughter Margarete Ellerik

  Michael Czenstkowski (born December 16, 1899, in Zukovken, West Prussia), fourth child of Anton and Marianna, died in infancy

  Valerian Czenstkowski (born April 25, 1900, in Glischnitz, Pomerania), fifth child of Anton and Marianna

  Felix Czenstkowski (later Schanzkowsky) (born February 17, 1903, in Glischnitz, Pomerania), sixth child of Anton and Marianna; married Emma Mueller; daughter Waltraut von Czenstkowski

  Maria Juliana Czentskowski (born April 30, 1905, in Schwarz Dammerkow, Pomerania), seventh child of Anton and Marianna; married Florian Zakowsky (Zagorski)

  Maucher, Karl, son of Margarete Ellerik, grandson of Gertrude; donated blood sample in 1994 for DNA testing

  ASSOCIATES OF FRANZISKA SCHANZKOWSKA

  Meyer, Otto, Franziska’s teacher in Hygendorf, father of Richard Meyer

  Meyer, Richard, son of Otto Meyer; childhood friend of Franziska; later burgomeister of Hygendorf

  Schrock, Martha (later Borkowski, previously Reetz), childhood friend of Franziska in Hygendorf

  Wingender, Anna (née Thewalt) (born 1867), Franziska’s landlady on Neue Hochstrasse i
n Berlin; mother of Kathe, Doris, and Luise Wingender

  Wingender, Luise (born 1907), youngest daughter of Anna Wingender; married a Herr Fiedler

  Wingender, Rosa Dorothea (Doris) (born 1903), daughter of Anna Wingender; married (1936) Werner Rittmann

  Wypyrczyk, Kathe (née Wingender) (born 1901), eldest daughter of Anna Wingender

  HOSPITALS AND INSTITUTIONS

  Berlin-Schöneberg Asylum (Franziska Schanzkowska: September 19, 1916–January 1917)

  Dalldorf State Institute for Welfare and Care, Wittenau, Berlin (Franziska Schanzkowska: January 1917–May 19, 1917; Anna Anderson [as Fraulein Unbekannt]: March 28, 1920–May 30, 1922)

  Elisabeth Hospital, Lützowstrasse, Berlin (Anna Anderson [as Fraulein Unbekannt]: February 17, 1920–March 28, 1920)

  Four Winds Rest Home, Katonah, New York (Anna Anderson: July 24, 1930–August 1931)

  Ilten Psychiatric Institute, Hannover (Anna Anderson: August 1931–June 1932)

  Landesheilanstalt Neuruppin, Neuruppin (Franziska Schanzkowska: May 19, 1917–October 22, 1917)

  Mommsen Clinic, Berlin (Anna Anderson [as Anastasia Tchaikovsky]: July 1925–spring 1926)

  St. Mary’s Hospital, Berlin (Anna Anderson [as Anastasia Tchaikovsky]: periodically 1922–1925)