“The real strength of refugee families seems to have emerged from the women who, in some cases, experienced an odd sense of liberation. Women who had never before cooked took it up with enthusiasm, consulting books they had used previously only to instruct servants.... They went out of the house to find jobs. Men, usually untrained for any career other than the military, emasculated by the loss of power as well as the loss of wealth, were more reluctant to accept the fact that the golden years they had known were gone forever. The Romanovs themselves reflected this widespread pattern among emigrés: strong women taking charge in an often desperate situation.” MenWomenHard TimesCopingRising Above It Book:The Flight of the Romanovs: A Family Saga Source: The Flight of the Romanovs: A Family Saga
“Typhus was raging and even some at the Danish consulate were infected.... The pharmacies, running out of medicines, sold Orthodox amulets, and people were instructed to tie their sleeves tightly at the wrist so as to prevent lice from creeping in. Former ladies-in-waiting were sleeping on the floor, with eleven former aristocrats sharing one room. A feeling of doom was spreading all over the city, like typhus itself.” DoomInfectionLiceTypus Book:The Flight of the Romanovs: A Family Saga Source: The Flight of the Romanovs: A Family Saga