Julia (Lili) Dehn (1885-1963), friend of Empress Alexandra

[Janet Whitcomb]

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[Antonio_P.Caballer]

Congratulations Jane for this  new topic,
I would like to know what happened to Lily Dehn after her escape and how did she live in exile. As far as i know she went to Argentina(?) and lived there. The Empress and the grand duchesses beloved her little son Tity and Alexandra was his godmother if i remember well, even insisted that he should  be orthodox...Well, what had become of this child? Did the family preserved letters and photographs?
Perhaps Greg when searching information for his biography on Alexandra met Lily´s descedants...

Thanks in advance!

[JoanAlexandra]

Antonio, I will share what I know about my grand-mother Lili Von Dehn: She escaped to Finland initially, and then went to her family estate, under White Russian control.  From there, with all the government instability- she escaped with her son and mother to Greece/Turkey.  Eventually she reconnected with her husband in England (Charles Von Dehn of the Standart), where she had 2 daughters, one of which is my mother, Maria, who resides with me.
After 7 years in England, she inherited a country estate in Poland. In 1939, She escaped from the Russians as a refugee between Poland and Germany.  In 1947, she immigrated to Venezuela with her son Alex (Titi).  In 1963 she died in Rome Italy and is buried there.  Her Book, on the site is called, "The Real Tsaritsa./Letters at Yale archives.

[Janet Whitcomb]

JoanAlexandra, we are delighted to hear from you, and to learn more about your grandmother, whose life challenges certainly did not end after the Russian Revolution.  

If you have the time and inclination, we'd love to hear more about your grandmother, your Uncle Alex--whom so many of us remember from "The Real Tsaritsa"--and additional information regarding those post-Revolution years. Please also give our regards to your mother, Maria, and thank you again!

[francois14]

Hello, I am new here, just found this site and I have a burning question:
My Great Grandfather, his wife and some of his family to include my Grandparents, Father and his siblings were deported (or exiled) to Tobolsk around the same time as the Royal Family. My Great Grandfather was forestmaster in a russian duchy in today's Poland, they lived on an estate in the Przasnysz area. Rumor has it he was employed by a russian duke, but nobody remembers the name. He supposedly had dual citizenship (german/russian). Can anybody tell me anything at all? I am trying to piece together my Grandmother's story, who later became a victim of the NAZI medical murders in Germany.
I have so many questions, like: why were they deported, what was their standing or connection to any aristocracy, who was my Great Grandfather working for?
I am not an expert at all and my research just recently started. Thank you very much for any info, Julie

[Janet Whitcomb]

Hi Julie--

Glad you're with us! Wish I could furnish some insight, but keep checking in and perhaps others will be able to do so.  

Your message is a powerful reminder that so many people were displaced and so many lives disrupted--and too often ended--during those horrible times.

[francois14]

Thank you very much Janet! I just read my own post and I need to clarify a couple of things myself, lol.

It was my Great Grandfather who had dual citizenship, his name was Frydryck Geromin (spelling could be off). The duchy was in the province of Plock.
Why would my Family be exiled as well, there is no drop of blue blood as for as I know, but I have a photo from Tobolsk, where my Grandmother stands at the grave of two of her children she lost (typhus I think). My father is standing there as well as a little boy.
Most of the family made it to the US, my branch was later rendered stateless in Germany. ???

[Sarai_Porretta]

Wow, I am so pleasantly surprised to learn that there is a descendant of someone so closely related to the Romanovs here! Most of us here have read Lili Dehn's wonderful The Real Tsarista and know how dear the family was to her and vice-versa. It is very exciting to have someone with a connection to her here. I have wondered before whether this forum would attract descendants of people connected to the Imperial Family who would have interesting information to share with us, and I am glad that this is so in this case. Welcome then, Joan Alexandra, and feel free to share any recollections about your grandmother and her memories as you feel comfortable!  

[elisa_1872]

Joan Alexandra, its thrilling to have you with us. If you want to share any more information about your wonderful grandmother, we'd all love to hear, as you feel comfortable. I've always felt a profound admiration for Lili, and please give your family my best regards!

Elisa

[elisa_1872]

One further question i have, if i may ask, is i have read Lili's beautiful book, and see there are various personal letters from Alexandra, etc. Are these now kept personally by the Dehn Family?
If you want to share, i would love to know more about where these precious documents are now!

Best regards,
Elisa

[Johnny]

Reading Julia Dehn's book posted on this website, I noticed that there were  some passages in French, in the otherwise all English text. That implies that the original text was not in French. Because if it realy were a translation from French into English then the translator would not have left thouse couple of passages in French. Also, once or twice Lili (Julia) refers her English language readers directly. On the other hand, Anna Vyrubova has mentioned that during her time at the palace, Lili Dehn did not speak any English.
So, does anyone know in what language Lili wrote her book? Also, does anyone have an idea about the original language of Anna's first book of memoires?

[Antonio_P.Caballer]

I suppose Julia wrote the book in Russian. The fact that some words were left untranslated is common in many memoirs of that time. You will find french words and expressions even in books by english writers. French was then the court or "elegant" language, and everyone was supposed to understand at least the most tipical expressions, like "Ç´est la vie" and so on...

[Belochka]

There is a Russian edition of this book titled Podlinaya Tsaritsa (The Real Tsaritsa) which was published in SPb in 2003.

The first English editions of these memoirs were published simultaneously in Boston and London in 1922.

[olga]

Was Lili Russian? Her name certainly doesn't sound it.

[Antonio_P.Caballer]

Lily wrote in her memoirs about this.
Lily´s father´s(Ismail Selim Bek Smolsky) ancestors hailed from Lithuanian Tartary and  her mother´s(Catherine Horvat) grandfather were invited by the Empress Elizabeta Petrovna to come from Hungary and assist in the colonization of South Russia. This man, colonel Horvat, was half Serbian and half Hungarian.