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
wither 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 1960s 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 a body part of hers turned up in the
hospital in Charlottesville and scientist decided that it was time to
find out wither or not Anna Andersonn was indeed Anastasia. They tested
her DNA against the DNA of an Uncle of Anastasias 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. Further proof came in the late 1990s when the bodies of the
Russian Royal Family were found.
