Witchy Woman

In the 18th century, supposedly enlightened Europeans beheaded the continent's 'last witch.' Now Anna Göldi is celebrated with a new museum and an effort to clear her name.

By Tracy McNicoll | Newsweek Web Exclusive
Oct 14, 2007 | Updated: 7:38  p.m. ET Oct 11, 2007

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  • Posted By: fran0127 @ 10/16/2007 3:20:32 PM

    I am not surprised this happened in the mountains of Switzerland, as there is one canton there that did not even give the vote to women until 1996. Yes, 1996, just 11 years ago. They were forced to give the vote to women in order for Switzerland to join the European Union, because the EU has basic minimum human rights standards that all members must follow. But this province high in the mountains had been following evangelical Christian standards all the way through the twentieth century, and they did not believe that women should be allowed to vote.

    • Posted By: Mollis52 @ 11/11/2007 9:44:19 AM

      your wrong it was 1976 when women in the Canton of Glarus became the vote

    • Posted By: American_Suisse @ 10/17/2007 4:54:11 AM

      Ummm...fran0127...I hate to be the one to break this to you but Switzerland is NOT a member of the EU.

    • Posted By: American_Suisse @ 10/17/2007 4:52:39 AM

      Ummm...fran0127...I hate to break this to you, but Switzerland is NOT a member of the EU.

  • Posted By: alphasam @ 10/19/2007 12:23:20 AM

    Religion is about control, power and greed. Millions of people have
    been hanged, burned and killed religious groups over the centuries.
    Countless wars have been fought, and are being fought by one
    religious group against another. This is nothing if not insanity on
    a planet wide scale. Delusion by one is insanity, by many it's called
    religion. People who talk and receive instructions from invisible gods
    are willing to kill and destroy are a threat to humanity. Reason and
    common sense must prevail if we as a species are to survive.

  • Posted By: tbezner @ 10/17/2007 11:32:21 PM

    The "evangelical" court? Gosh, Ms. McNicoll, thanks for giving credit to 20th century evangelicalism for witch burnings hundreds of years ago! I'm sure the backward, unintelligent views of those "evangelicals" were responsible for Anna Goldi's death, rather than an obvious attempt to get revenge for and cover up a family embarrassment! Personally, I think we should lobotomize at least a few "evangelicals" a week as a warning that must stop decapitating witches immediately!

    • Posted By: bbondo @ 10/18/2007 4:09:52 PM

      The author is not trying to discredit modern-day Evangelicals (with an uppercase E, as opposed to Catholics, etc.) by saying that those who condemned Anna G??ldi were also Evangelicals. Rather, the term "evangelical court" (note the lowercase e) is a decent attempt on her part at translating "Evangelische(r) Rat", the German name for the body that condemned G??ldi. "Evangelium" means "gospel" and "Rat" means "council", so you could say that the mission statement of the council (or court) was to make decisions that were rooted in the Holy Gospel. Of course, by torturing someone and condemning her to death on a bogus charge, they proved to be anything but "evangelical" (in the sense of being in accordance with the Gospel).

  • Posted By: amathystmist @ 10/18/2007 3:42:07 PM

    What good does it do her now? She's dead. If she had decendants, then it may concern them. I would hope this womans death and the manner in which it happend would not be the door for some ambitious person to make thier name known around the word. The witch hunts and mass hysteria were made by Corupt men and women of the time period, political and church. It's a chapter in our history that we should be ashamed of and learn from. We should not try to 'make it right' by writting a few changes into the records so they can then say, "well we did right by her, so now we can forget all about it." The things our anceastors did should way heavily on us, only so far as to learn from what happend and never make the same errors in judgment and morals that they made

  • Posted By: BowMtnSpirit @ 10/18/2007 10:56:16 AM

    What difference to reverse her verdict? All such verdicts should be reversed; they should never have been entered in the first place. It was the churches' pogroms, the churches' (Protestant, Catholic, take your pick) self-interests, their perception of threats to their authority, that drove the burnings, hangings and beheadings. Not superstition. If you are superstitious, if you truly believe in witchcraft, then the best counter is witchcraft itself. Just as every worshipper of Satan is nothing more than a disgruntled christian, it being necessary to believe in hell before you can worship its lord. I would personally consider it an honor to have an ancestor's name on those books. It's a mark of independence from the yoke of the murderous church.

  • Posted By: BowMtnSpirit @ 10/18/2007 10:48:19 AM

    What difference to reverse the verdict for Anna? They all should be reversed, they all should never have been entered. It was the churches' pogroms, the churches' (Protestant and Catholic) self-interests that drove the burnings, hangings and decapitations, not superstition. If you believe in witchcraft, then the most effective counter is witchcraft. Just as a Satan-worshipper is nothing more than a disgruntled christian, it being necessary to believe in hell before you can worship the devil. I think I would be proud to have the name of an ancestor in those books. It's a mark of independence from the yoke of the murderous church.

  • Posted By: tbezner @ 10/17/2007 11:31:30 PM

    The "evangelical" court? Gosh, Ms. McNicoll, thanks for giving credit to 20th century evangelicalism for witch burnings hundreds of years ago! I'm sure the backward, unintelligent views of those "evangelicals" were responsible for Anna Goldi's death, rather than an obvious attempt to get revenge for and cover up a family embarrassment! Personally, I think we should lobotomize at least a few "evangelicals" a week as a warning that must stop decapitating witches immediately!

  • Posted By: rglski @ 10/17/2007 9:56:30 AM

    They were "enlightened" idiots when they MURDERED her and they are still idiots if they refuse to issue a pardon.

  • Posted By: cailleach @ 10/17/2007 9:53:41 AM

    Hmmm. confessed under torture? It's a good thing we don't torture people any more to get cofessions. Oh, wait!

  • Posted By: Silent 1 @ 10/17/2007 4:45:52 AM

    is this where the saying " Silence is GOLDEN (Goeldi )

  • Posted By: drumlaw80 @ 10/16/2007 4:46:52 PM

    Interesting and well-written article. Thanks.

    --Lee Rudnicki

  • Posted By: Rogue Historian @ 10/16/2007 4:01:25 PM

    I agree that the idea of religion as the cause of all the world's problems is absurd. What about greed? Lust for power? Yes, religion has been used as a tool to further these sorts of ends, but that doesn't make religion any more responsible for the world's problems than a knife is responsible for stabbing someone. A perfect illustration is the South Park episode on evolution - long story short: in the future, religion has been abolished and the atheists are fighting each other over who has the "truth" about science - and which group has chosen the appropriate name. Cartman asks "so, does that mean there's no more war?" The response: "Of course not! The damn French-Chinese think they have a right to Hawaii!"
    Evil and violence happen because people give in to their selfish natures, whether they are religious people or not.

  • Posted By: cleaveland @ 10/16/2007 3:46:03 PM

    yet again the rich getting away with murder

  • Posted By: yeayea @ 10/16/2007 2:59:07 PM

    "Don't need religion" seems like another version of "head in the sand" syndrome. Of course we need religion, we just don't need bad religion. "Good" religion has fed millions of hungry, clothed the poor, provided shelter and comfort to those in need. I would submit that "we" cause all of our problems, not religion, and it is only in the name of good religion that is more interested in the welfare of others than in our own welfare, that we begin to correct the evils of the past.

  • Posted By: rousch15@hotmail.com @ 10/16/2007 2:31:23 PM

    When are people going to realize we don't need religion? Religions are the causes of all of our problems, ranging from poverty (Rome opposes birth control) to bigotry (all are guilty). Religious tolerance should be reconsidered. Better yet, ban them all.

    • Posted By: markusg @ 10/16/2007 2:57:47 PM

      Come on. Religion as the cause of the world's problems? That my friend is a huge leap. Granted there have been many evil things done in the name of world religions, but there is also a lot of good done as well. World Governments still lead the way when it comes to atrocties and deaths, but I don't think we should ban governments in favor of anarchy.

    • Posted By: markusg @ 10/16/2007 2:56:42 PM

      Come on. Religion as the cause of the world's problems? That my friend is a huge leap. Granted there have been many evil things done in the name of world religions, but there is also a lot of good done as well. World Governments still lead the way when it comes to atrocties and deaths, but I don't think we should ban governments in favor of anarchy.

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