In Search Of... Season 2 # 13, ANASTASIA

In 1917 the entire royal family of Tsar Nicolas was murdered during the Russian revolution.  A legend endures that Anastasia, the youngest daughter, escaped and is still alive today.

The Tsar had stayed completely isolated from the poverty of his land. In much of Russia hunger was a daily reality. In 1917 millions have lost their lives in the war and soldiers deserted by the thousands. Demonstrators demanded immediate change and workers were on strike. In a last attempt to restore order the Tsar's generals asked him to renounce his throne. He did and the family was taken prisoners to ensure their safety. All symbols of Tsardom were torn away.  Revolutionary fractions struggled with each other. The radical party led by Lenin won the ruthless battle for power when they stormed the winter palace.

The family have been brought to Kathrinenburg where they were shot on July 17th 1918.

More than 50 years after the massacre 2 British journalists, Tony Summers and Tom Mangold, uncovered startling new historical facts about the fate of the Russian Royal Family. Several witnesses have stated that the women were brought to another town months after their alleged murder.  

A woman was found in the Berlin canal and only began to talk two years later claiming she is the grand-duchess Anastasia. Some of her former relatives and friends recognized her immediately. She spent most of her time in hospitals and later as a guest in high society all over the world - without any official identity. After hiding for several years in Germany with the help of a German prince and adapting the name of Anna Anderson she married an American thereby gaining an official identity. They were married in 1968 and she accepted the name of Anna Anderson Mannahan. In Germany an official court case stated after years of investigation that it is neither proven nor it can be denied that she is Anastasia.      

One of Germanys leading identification experts is certain that the measurements and the pattern of the ears -which is like a fingerprint- match. After a life full of court-cases and trying to prove who she is all she now asks is to be left alone.