Anastasia - Die letzte Zarentochter (1956)

Years after the murder of the Romanov family in Yekaterinburg, people are still wondering what became of Tsar’s daughter Anastasia Nikolaevna Romanova. Franz Svoboda, a former Austrian prisoner of war, reports that Anastasia survived the family’s execution and was taken to Romania. In 1920, an unknown woman jumps into the Landwehr Canal in Berlin. At the hospital, she refuses to give her name or say where she comes from. The attending doctor finds scars on her head that may have been caused by blows and gunshot wounds, as well as deformed feet. Fräulein Peuthert, who is temporarily staying at the clinic for an examination, recognizes her as the Tsar’s daughter Anastasia and immediately informs several Russian aristocrats. However, Baroness Frau von Pleskau cannot confirm the unknown woman’s identity. The chamberlain Wolkow, though, recognizes Anastasia, as she knows details about the Tsar’s family and recognizes him as well. When the unknown woman realizes that the aristocrats are only interested in money, she flees to Fräulein Peuthert. She tells her that two brothers named Tschaikowski took her to Romania. She became involved with one of the brothers and had a son named Alexej, who was given up for adoption. When Fräulein Peuthert has a journalist come over and the unknown woman refuses to provide any information, her hostess throws her out. Princess Irene of Prussia and Crown Princess Cäcilie express doubts about her identity. The unknown woman is initially delighted to see her aunt Irene, but is disappointed when Irene introduces herself under a false name. The meeting with Grand Duchess Olga goes more harmoniously; they recognize each other. Olga’s mother, the Dowager Empress, refuses, however, to accept that the unknown woman is Anastasia. Years later, in 1927, the unknown woman is living with the Duke of Leuchtenberg. There she is visited by Chleb Bodkin, a former friend of the family; they immediately recognize each other and renew their friendship. At the same time, a woman contacts the press, saying she believes the unknown woman is her former roommate, Franziska Schanzkowska, a Polish farm laborer. The commissioner handling the case feels compelled to investigate because of the significance of these new circumstances. Two visitors at the Duke of Leuchtenberg’s estate claim to be Franziska’s siblings, but turn out to be impostors. Finally, the unknown woman accepts Chleb’s suggestion that they go to America together to find some peace. In America, the unknown woman is welcomed by high society, but talk is already circulating about an article in The New York Times. The article describes the unknown woman as an impostor and Chleb as her accomplice in an attempt to get the Tsar’s fortune. The unknown woman then tells Chleb that Tsar Nicholas II deposited five million gold rubles at the Bank of England for each of his children. If she does not claim her share within ten years—a deadline that is now only days away—it will go to Anastasia’s aunts, Xenia and Olga. Princess Katharina and her husband are displeased by Chleb’s intervention and offer to provide for the unknown woman, provided she gives up her inheritance. The unknown woman breaks with Chleb when he advises her to accept the offer. She moves in with Mrs. Stevens, who immediately establishes a society to represent the unknown woman’s interests. When a German lawyer appears and tells the unknown woman she has been cheated, she tries to flee but is locked up by Mrs. Stevens. The unknown woman has a violent outburst and is admitted to a sanatorium in Ilten near Hanover (the Wahrendorff institutions). The psychiatrists treating her can find no sign of mental illness. In 1931, she finally leaves the institution and is picked up in the woods by two police officers. Friedrich Ernst, Prince of Saxe-Altenburg, invites her to stay with him. In 1953, the unknown woman is visited at her cabin in the woods, where she moved seven years earlier, by Crown Princess Cäcilie, who wants to help her finally be recognized as Anastasia. The unknown woman, however, has stopped seeking happiness through other people; instead, she has come to recognize the inner peace of solitude as true wealth.