| "Anna Anderson" | |
|---|---|
 | |
|
Real Name |
Franziska Schanzkowska Manahan |
|
Born |
December 16, 1896 |
|
Died |
February 12, 1984 |
Origin[]
"Anna Anderson" was born Franziska Schanzkowska in 1899 in Poland. When she was young, she became a munitions worker until an explosion in the factory that she worked in. In 1920, shortly after the explosion, she tried to commit suicide by jumping off a bridge in Berlin. She was institutionalized, but because she would not tell them her name they called her Miss Unknown. After two years at the institution, she finally told people that she was Grand Duchess Anastasia, the last daughter of Czar Nicholas II of Russia. Many people who knew the real Anastasia came to see her, some calling her a fake, others saying that she had to be the real thing.
After several years of this, she left the institution and stayed with friends who supported her claim that she was Anastasia. For years, she went from friends house to institution all the while claiming that she was Anastasia. During this time, there was a trial going on to determine whether or not she was the real Anastasia. During the 30 year trial, the brother and sisters of Tsarina Alexandra tried to get the judge to say that this woman could not be Anastasia because she died with the rest of her family. Anastasia's uncle even hired a detective and came up with information about Anna. He strongly believed that she was Franziska Schanzkowska and not his niece, Anastasia.
In the 1960's, Anna moved to the United States and continued to stay with friends. One time, though, when she could not take it anymore she checked into a hotel under the assumed name of Anna Anderson and the moniker stuck. Right before Anna's visa was to expire she married John "Jack" Manahan. They lived together in Charlottesville, Virginia, until her death in 1983.
Several years after her death, her DNA was tested against the DNA of an Uncle of Anastasia's as well as the DNA of Carl Moucher, a grand nephew of Franziska Schanzkowska. The DNA test concluded that Anna Andersonn was indeed Franziska Schanzkowska and not Anastasia, thus ending the myth that had mystified the world for decades.
Public Domain Films Inspired by Anna Anderson[]
- Clothes Make the Woman (1928)
Notes[]
- The central character ("Anastasia" or "Anya") of the 1997 animated fantasy Anastasia is portrayed as the actual Grand Duchess Anastasia, even though the film – produced and directed by Don Bluth and Gary Goldman – was released after DNA tests proved that Anna Anderson was not Anastasia.