Hello Everyone!!!
A great question indeed... While Science has "busted" the myth. I choose to believe it! I often am asked, "Why to you believe in a woman who's claim was proven wrong?"
Well here are a few of my reasoning's...
One:
The DNA test was said to be possibly wrong, by the SAME people who preformed it.
Two:
Science, in some sense is man-made, the tests and procedures are man-made, which means that, like man, it's NOT perfect and NOT always right.
Three:
The two bodies found in '08 (at that point, they were bone fragments) proved that ALL of the family had died.
But did they?
The boy found was roughly between the ages of 10-13 (Alexi was 13 at the time of his death)
The girl found was roughly between the ages of 18-21 (Maria was 19, Anastasia was 17)
The girl must have been Maria, or at least parts of Maria...
Well then: "Was Anastasia in the mass grave?"
The shortest body in the mass grave measured at 5'7"
It was buried under the name of Anastasia....
But at the time of her "death", Anastasia's height was 5'2"
Maria's height was 5'7"
In less words: Anastasia's body [I believe] is still missing and the core of Maria's skeleton is in the mass grave, while pieces of her were put with Alexi.
Also, Anna Anderson knew secrets of the family. Stuff that they covered up, she knew! Her ears were exactly the same as Anastasia's in seventeen anatomical points (which is scientifically impossible). Ears maybe similar, but never are they the same. She had the same tooth disease that only the royals had, she had bunions (which Anastasia had). Her eyes were the same color. Her handwriting was the same as Anastasia's. She was said to be the same age. She had Bone-tuberculosis, which the Royals were know as having. And, she spent her whole life fighting for her name. Any fraud would have given up after a certain amount of years.
Anna also knew about the Tsar's bank account and knew how to gain access using a secret password (this was later proved by Ambassador Zahle).
Romanov relatives had been turned away at the same bank. Why did no other Romanov relative know this password?
The Russian emperor may have told only his daughters about this information.
And how would a demented peasant girl (which Anna had been accused of being) how would she alone know information that senior Romanov family members were ignorant of?
Another interesting point is that whenever she grew angry, Anna's face became covered with red blotches......
Family and friends close to the Tsar and his wife, said that Alexandra's face always grew red blotches whenever she was extremely upset...(Was it a trait she inherited from her mother?)
Anastasia had a mole removed from her right shoulder blade, which left a distinct mark. Anna had a very distinct scar in the exact same spot....
As a child, Anastasia had fallen. The fall left a scar on her forehead, this same scar was found on Anna's forehead...
Even when she was living off the "kindness" of others, Anna showed little appreciation, and was often rude to her hosts. She even trashed their homes by not picking up after herself. Why? Because (if she was Anastasia) then she was use to having servants and maids. And she was a royal, so why show appreciation?
Some have also said, "what about the man who rescued her? Are there records to prove he was real?"
Records do NOT show an Alexander or Serge. But! Records DO show that there was an unidentified man who had a brother, and that they were part of the "clean-up" squad. ALSO, (this detail is not normally known and can only be found in biography novels) but apparently, shortly after Anna had been released from the Asylum, Serge came forward looking for Anna and asked about her whereabouts. He disappeared, and no one ever saw him again.
Franziska was a polish factory worker who disappeared around the time Anna appeared. Few of Franziska's family identified Anna as Franziska [and of course, the DNA "proved" her to be Franziska]
BUT!!!
Franziska's shoe size was two sizes BIGGER than Anna's.
Franziska NEVER had a child, while Anna DID.
Franziska disappeared a month AFTER Anna appeared.
Franziska's height was 5'6" while Anna's was 5'2" (5'2"-the same height as Anastasia)
Franziska's hair was described as "almost black", but Anna's was "chestnut".
Franziska's brother described his sister's feet as being "very pretty", while Anna's had bunions.
And last, but not least, Fanziska knew only Polish and broken German.
Anna knew, Russian, German, English, and French (the same languages Anastasia had studied).
[For those who do not beleive she spoke Russian]... She'd speak it outloud in her sleep "like a native" as one hospital nurse described.
Doubters of Anna Anderson have said that the scars she had were received in an explosion from a hand grenade during World War I.
Anna Anderson's scars included a bullet grazing behind the right ear...
Teeth knocked out by a rifle butt...
The tip of her elbow cut off by a bayonet...
A scar of a distinctive triangular Russian bayonet which completely pierced her foot... (It may have pinned her to the floor during the murders)
None of these injuries would be typical of a hand grenade explosion.
There were also the testimonies of a few Bolshiviek soilders that said "one of the Grand Duchesses got away"... And also a tailor who claimed he saw Anastasia after the shootings.
For these reasons and other's, I beleive with all my heart that Anna Anderson WAS Anastasia.
I've read both points of view and still come to the conclusion that Anna and Anastasia were the same persons. Thank you for taking the time to read this! I hope you found it interesting and helpful!
A great question indeed... While Science has "busted" the myth. I choose to believe it! I often am asked, "Why to you believe in a woman who's claim was proven wrong?"
Well here are a few of my reasoning's...
One:
The DNA test was said to be possibly wrong, by the SAME people who preformed it.
Two:
Science, in some sense is man-made, the tests and procedures are man-made, which means that, like man, it's NOT perfect and NOT always right.
Three:
The two bodies found in '08 (at that point, they were bone fragments) proved that ALL of the family had died.
But did they?
The boy found was roughly between the ages of 10-13 (Alexi was 13 at the time of his death)
The girl found was roughly between the ages of 18-21 (Maria was 19, Anastasia was 17)
The girl must have been Maria, or at least parts of Maria...
Well then: "Was Anastasia in the mass grave?"
The shortest body in the mass grave measured at 5'7"
It was buried under the name of Anastasia....
But at the time of her "death", Anastasia's height was 5'2"
Maria's height was 5'7"
In less words: Anastasia's body [I believe] is still missing and the core of Maria's skeleton is in the mass grave, while pieces of her were put with Alexi.
Also, Anna Anderson knew secrets of the family. Stuff that they covered up, she knew! Her ears were exactly the same as Anastasia's in seventeen anatomical points (which is scientifically impossible). Ears maybe similar, but never are they the same. She had the same tooth disease that only the royals had, she had bunions (which Anastasia had). Her eyes were the same color. Her handwriting was the same as Anastasia's. She was said to be the same age. She had Bone-tuberculosis, which the Royals were know as having. And, she spent her whole life fighting for her name. Any fraud would have given up after a certain amount of years.
Anna also knew about the Tsar's bank account and knew how to gain access using a secret password (this was later proved by Ambassador Zahle).
Romanov relatives had been turned away at the same bank. Why did no other Romanov relative know this password?
The Russian emperor may have told only his daughters about this information.
And how would a demented peasant girl (which Anna had been accused of being) how would she alone know information that senior Romanov family members were ignorant of?
Another interesting point is that whenever she grew angry, Anna's face became covered with red blotches......
Family and friends close to the Tsar and his wife, said that Alexandra's face always grew red blotches whenever she was extremely upset...(Was it a trait she inherited from her mother?)
Anastasia had a mole removed from her right shoulder blade, which left a distinct mark. Anna had a very distinct scar in the exact same spot....
As a child, Anastasia had fallen. The fall left a scar on her forehead, this same scar was found on Anna's forehead...
Even when she was living off the "kindness" of others, Anna showed little appreciation, and was often rude to her hosts. She even trashed their homes by not picking up after herself. Why? Because (if she was Anastasia) then she was use to having servants and maids. And she was a royal, so why show appreciation?
Some have also said, "what about the man who rescued her? Are there records to prove he was real?"
Records do NOT show an Alexander or Serge. But! Records DO show that there was an unidentified man who had a brother, and that they were part of the "clean-up" squad. ALSO, (this detail is not normally known and can only be found in biography novels) but apparently, shortly after Anna had been released from the Asylum, Serge came forward looking for Anna and asked about her whereabouts. He disappeared, and no one ever saw him again.
Franziska was a polish factory worker who disappeared around the time Anna appeared. Few of Franziska's family identified Anna as Franziska [and of course, the DNA "proved" her to be Franziska]
BUT!!!
Franziska's shoe size was two sizes BIGGER than Anna's.
Franziska NEVER had a child, while Anna DID.
Franziska disappeared a month AFTER Anna appeared.
Franziska's height was 5'6" while Anna's was 5'2" (5'2"-the same height as Anastasia)
Franziska's hair was described as "almost black", but Anna's was "chestnut".
Franziska's brother described his sister's feet as being "very pretty", while Anna's had bunions.
And last, but not least, Fanziska knew only Polish and broken German.
Anna knew, Russian, German, English, and French (the same languages Anastasia had studied).
[For those who do not beleive she spoke Russian]... She'd speak it outloud in her sleep "like a native" as one hospital nurse described.
Doubters of Anna Anderson have said that the scars she had were received in an explosion from a hand grenade during World War I.
Anna Anderson's scars included a bullet grazing behind the right ear...
Teeth knocked out by a rifle butt...
The tip of her elbow cut off by a bayonet...
A scar of a distinctive triangular Russian bayonet which completely pierced her foot... (It may have pinned her to the floor during the murders)
None of these injuries would be typical of a hand grenade explosion.
There were also the testimonies of a few Bolshiviek soilders that said "one of the Grand Duchesses got away"... And also a tailor who claimed he saw Anastasia after the shootings.
For these reasons and other's, I beleive with all my heart that Anna Anderson WAS Anastasia.
I've read both points of view and still come to the conclusion that Anna and Anastasia were the same persons. Thank you for taking the time to read this! I hope you found it interesting and helpful!