On 26th June 1977, a man passed away in a Vancouver hospital after suffering from an aggressive form of Leukaemia. To many he was known as Ernst Veermann, but his death certificate names him as Alexei Heino Tammet-Romanov.
The Early Life Of Ernst Veermann
The son of Paula von Benckendorff-Kanna and Johann Veermann was born in 1905. The family lived in a farmhouse not far from the site of the Romanov massacre at Impatiev House in Ekaterinburg. Not much else is known of the childhood of Ernst Veermann, except that he is reputed to have died of typhoid fever in 1917.
The “Rescue” of Alexei Romanov
According to the story related to Sandra Romanov, third wife of Alexei Tammet-Romanov, after the execution of his parents and sisters, the young Tzarevich Alexei was wrapped in a sheet and placed upon a truck, to be transported to a mineshaft. However, upon the journey, the truck became stuck in the mud and was unable to move. Passing farmer, Johann Veermann was ordered to place the bundle on his cart and transport it himself. Whilst doing so, Johann noticed the bundle starting to move, when he unwrapped it, he found the teenage Tzarevich, injured but still alive.
The man who became known as Alexei Tammet-Romanov claimed that on the day of the execution, he heard a loud bang and then remembered nothing but darkness, until he awoke in his foster family’s farmhouse three days later. He was given the identity of Ernst Veermann after his foster parents’ deceased son and worked on the family farm until they relocated to Estonia in September 1921 (using Ernst Veermann’s identification documents to do so).
How “Alexei” Survived
Various theories as to how anyone could have survived the Romanov massacre exist, one such is that Yakov Yurovsky (the head of the firing squad) fired blanks at the young Alexei (to the right of his ear), enabling him to survive despite the accepted fact that the boy suffered from blood disorder haemophilia.
Evidence offered to support this claim is that nowhere near the estimated 80 bullets that were fired were recovered and Yurovsky himself claimed a whole clip was fired into the Duchesses to no effect. If Yurovsky had loaded the guns himself , he could have easily switched live ammunition for blanks.
The Evidence
Ernst Veermann never publicly claimed to be Tzarevich Alexei. However, after sending a letter of condolence to Queen Elizabeth II following the death of her uncle, he received a visit from an officer of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Security Force, who questioned him for several hours. According to Sandra Romanov, a letter addressed to Alexei Romanov, Esquire and bearing Her Majesty’s Coat of Arms was received by her husband shortly after.
Added to this, Alexei Tammet-Romanov was deaf in the right ear, which supports the theory that two blanks were fired to the right of the Tzarevich’s ear.
However, Ernst Veermann was not known to have suffered from haemophilia. There is research suggesting that the Russian heir may not have suffered from haemophilia but from a form of Aplastic anaemia, the symptoms of which seem to explain other instances of illness suffered by the young boy.
There is also the suggestion that Ernst Veerman’s mother, Paula, may have been related to Count Paul Benckendorff, Grand Marshall of the Tzar’s Imperial Court, who attempted to find a place of exile for the family.
Whether it was Ernst Veermann himself or the parents he claims told him of his escape who believed he was the heir to the Russian throne will remain a mystery.
Sources:
Why Are Alexei's Bones Absent? By John Kendrick, St. Petersburg Times, June 1998
The Fate of the Romanovs by Greg King
Ekaterinburg: The Last Days of the Romanovs by Helen Rappaport
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