Anna Anderson: The Eerily Similar Imposter of Anastasia On a chilly fall day in 1997, people crowded the ticket booths in order to purchase their seat for the new animated film, Anastasia. The award-winning Warner Bros. film Anastasia was released November 21, 1997, featuring actress, Meg Ryan as the voice of the famous Grand Duchess Anastasia. The movie told the fascinating story of the Russian siege of 1918 and how a former friend of the Romanov family, Grigori Rasputin cursed the whole line of royals. The young Anastasia tries desperately to escape with her grandmother but fails. She grows up in an orphanage seeking a family but suffers from amnesia. In the end, the princess is reunited with her grandmother, reclaims her throne, defeats
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In fact, Peter Kurth, Anderson’s biographer, claims, “If that was a Polish factory worker, I am the pope” (Goodman 3). This is important because Kurth was pretty much the only who could get any useful information out of Anna when scientists convicted her of being a mentally ill factory worker, even though the information he received was the bare minimum. Kurth truly believed she was royalty. Later, many tests were done on Anderson to establish her true identity. This included a penmanship test, where Anderson’s handwriting was compared to the Duchess’s schoolbooks. According to graphologist, Dr. Minna Becker, there were “many identical traits in [the] two scripts” (McGuire 56). Another action that supported Anderson’s claim was her introduction to Gleb Botkin. When the Romanov children were young, Botkin would “draw cartoon animals” for them (McGuire 48). When Anderson supposedly met Botkin for the first time, she recognized him and said, “Ask him if he has brought his funny animals” (48). Only the legitimate Grand Duchess would have known that small detail. Although these factors hugely endorse Anderson’s allegation, the non-supporters pointed out that the Romanovs spoke mainly Russian, while Anderson only spoke the language in her sleep. When questioned about the matter, she replied, “Because it was the last language we heard in that house” (MacLeod 110). Based on sufficient evidence, Anna Anderson could possibly be the Romanov heir. Anderson has proved time and time again that she is the Princess, returned to attain her position as Empress of Imperial Russia. This is believed by many, including a multitude of Romanov friends and
In fact, Peter Kurth, Anderson’s biographer, claims, “If that was a Polish factory worker, I am the pope” (Goodman 3). This is important because Kurth was pretty much the only who could get any useful information out of Anna when scientists convicted her of being a mentally ill factory worker, even though the information he received was the bare minimum. Kurth truly believed she was royalty. Later, many tests were done on Anderson to establish her true identity. This included a penmanship test, where Anderson’s handwriting was compared to the Duchess’s schoolbooks. According to graphologist, Dr. Minna Becker, there were “many identical traits in [the] two scripts” (McGuire 56). Another action that supported Anderson’s claim was her introduction to Gleb Botkin. When the Romanov children were young, Botkin would “draw cartoon animals” for them (McGuire 48). When Anderson supposedly met Botkin for the first time, she recognized him and said, “Ask him if he has brought his funny animals” (48). Only the legitimate Grand Duchess would have known that small detail. Although these factors hugely endorse Anderson’s allegation, the non-supporters pointed out that the Romanovs spoke mainly Russian, while Anderson only spoke the language in her sleep. When questioned about the matter, she replied, “Because it was the last language we heard in that house” (MacLeod 110). Based on sufficient evidence, Anna Anderson could possibly be the Romanov heir. Anderson has proved time and time again that she is the Princess, returned to attain her position as Empress of Imperial Russia. This is believed by many, including a multitude of Romanov friends and