I was raised by maternal grandparents who were born in 1890 and 1899, respectively. They were British subjects; George V was the cousin of the tsar. The Romanovs were very real in their household.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
The truth is very few of us are related to Napoleon or Cleopatra. Although, those are bad examples as I am actually descended from both of them.
We were descended from royalty.
My father was an immigrant from Russia and my mother was first generation.
It's hard for me not to have a great deal of compassion for the last Romanov family because, really, I don't know if a politically savvy ruler would have been able to make the situation turn out much differently.
My mother's parents, Bernard and Rivka Levine, were from Russia and also immigrated to New York City. My mother, Rose, was the elder of their two daughters. My maternal grandmother's family included several scholars and professionals.
My parents were second cousins. That is enough to explain all of my peculiarities.
My family history, like that of many Polish, German and Jewish families from Central Europe in the 20th century, is complex.
My parents are British but they emigrated to America, where I was born.
Both of my parents were first-generation Americans, the children of Jews who left Eastern Europe around the turn of the century.
As I was growing up, you know, I'm a white Jewish American born to Holocaust parents. My father fled Nazi Germany in 1939 and my mother's family had fled the czars of Russia before that.