Did you Believe?

Question:

Did you Believe?

This is a question for those who are old enough to know who I'm talking about. Her name was Anna Anderson, and she claimed to be the princess Anastasia from the Romanov family. I know the history behind the assassination of the Romanov's and I know the biography of Anna Anderson. I was just wondering how many people believed she was Anastasia back then. In my opionion, it wasn't her, because the facts just didn't line up. Also, that fact that she couldn't remember ANY Russian is highly unlikely to me. So, who believes it really was the long lost Princess Anastasia, and if so why?

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: There are two audiences for this sort of rubbish: those who take a historical view, like you, who are unlikely to be fooled because they will examine the evidence. But because a certain section of the population go all stupid when royalty/celebrities are concerned- you know, those who think Paris Hilton and Angelina Jolie and Princess DIana are actually important and interesting people- there is a ready market of meatheads ready to swallow this crap.

You only have to read Yahoo Answers to see how many of these addled people will believe any conspiracy theory just because it is nice to think the world is being controlled/fooled by an evil few. Dan Brown has made a billion dollars out of it.

In the context of Anastasia, there was also the Cold War element: those same celebrity-worshipping meatheads have a reflexive cringe toward aristocrats and the ruling classes, and they would adopt wholesale notions of patriotism without thinking- after all, they have limited critical faculties.

So the answer to your question is people believed it because they wanted to believe it, it was a nice story that clicked with many of their values. The critical thinking skills that would lead them to discount the story were not there, so they believed.