Tag: ANNA GÖLDI

Posted on

Podcast #77: Anna Göldi

In this episode we hear a story that feels sadly relevant—a miscarriage of justice.  Anna Göldi was the last woman to be legally executed after being accused of witchcraft in Switzerland, in 1782;  just seven years before the French Revolution, and a century after witch trials were rampant in Europe (as well as infamously in Salem, Massachusetts). Anna came from a poor family, and worked as a maid in various households, but she was also an independent and freethinking woman. In 1781 she was looking after a young girl who allegedly began spitting up pins and nails. 

Her wealthy employers accused her of witchcraft, and she was tortured until she admitted being in league with the devil. Anna Göldi was sentenced to death by decapitation for poisoning, even though the girl had not died. Not until 2007 was her case reevaluated and her name cleared. There’s now a museum, several podcasts, films and books that cover Anna’s life and story. DLS co-founder Katy Derbyshire tells it for us, and host/producer Susan Stone and our other co-founder Florian Duijsens come along to set things up. 

Also available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Pocket Casts. You can find the transcript, created by Susan, here.

Show notes:

Continue reading

Wedding party looks like fun; the subsequent trial and penalty less so.
Glarus back then
A woman operating a mechanical loom, in development during 1780s
Masha Karrell in the Anna Göldi musical
Dr Tschudi’s house in Glarus, now the Anna Göldi Museum
The wanted notice
The pins as illustrated in the new media
Cornelia Kempers in Gertrud Pinkus’s Anna Göldi feature film

Two German books about Anna: the novel (left) by Eveline Hasler and one of several excellent non-fiction books by Walter Hauser, who campaigned for her rehabilitation.

Our theme music is “Little Lily Swing” by Tri-Tachyon. Thanks for listening! We’ll be back with a new episode next month.

****

The Dead Ladies Show is a series of entertaining and inspiring talks about women who achieved amazing things against all odds, presented live in Berlin and beyond. This podcast is based on that series. Because women’s history is everyone’s history.

The Dead Ladies Show was founded by Florian Duijsens and Katy Derbyshire.

The podcast is created, produced, edited, and presented by Susan Stone.

Posted on

PodFest Berlin 2024: Anna Göldi & Shirley Chisholm!

We’re delighted to invite you to our third appearance at PodFest Berlin as we celebrate a first and a last for some notable Dead Ladies!

Florian, Katy, and Susan will be presenting a mini-Dead Ladies Show at the podcast festival on Saturday, September 14th starting at 4pm (doors open 3:30pm) at House of Colour (HOCO), Gneisenaustrasse 66–67, Aufgang E, 1st Floor, 10961 Berlin.

Susan will tell the timely tale of the first Black woman to run for the American presidency, and Katy will reprise the story of the last woman to be legally executed after being accused of witchcraft in Switzerland (auf Deutsch, this time). See below for more information on the two ladies in question, who will, as always, be presented in a messy mixture of English and German.

Tickets are €11.83 (including booking fees), or you can purchase day passes and event passes from PodFest Berlin that include the many exciting things going on between September 7–15, including workshops, panels, seminars, and other events! Please book in advance here.

See you soon!

SHIRLEY CHISHOLM was the first Black woman elected to the United States Congress, in 1968. Four years later, she was the first Black person and the first woman to run for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination. Once in Congress, she worked to get surplus food into the hands of those who needed it most and tried to implement federal funding for childcare. She did succeed in giving domestic workers the right to minimum wage, and she pointed out to the women’s movement that women of color faced multiple forms of discrimination. After her death in 2005, her vault in Buffalo was inscribed with her legendary campaign slogan: “Unbought and unbossed”.


ANNA GÖLDI was the last woman to be legally executed after being accused of witchcraft in Switzerland, in 1782 – that’s just seven years before the French Revolution. From a poor family, she worked as a maid in various households. In 1781 she was looking after a young girl who allegedly began spitting up needles. Her wealthy employers accused her of witchcraft, and she was tortured until she admitted being in league with the devil. She was sentenced to death by decapitation for poisoning, even though the girl had not died. Not until 2007 was her case acknowledged as a miscarriage of justice.

Posted on

Dead Ladies Show #36: Anna Göldi, Ester Krumbachová & Miriam Rothschild!

It’s us again! Back to our three-talk format but only in English again, unfortunately, due to our continuing funding woes. We’re treating you to talks by your beloved co-hosts Katy Derbyshire and Florian Duijsens, plus the curator, writer, and film producer Rachel Pronger. Learn all about three impressive women who faced tough times, pushed boundaries, and gave the world lasting treasures. The aim of the show is to raise money for more podcasts, so we’ve adjusted the non-reduced price to €10, but reduced tickets still cost €4. Get your tickets here. Doors open 7.30 pm – come on time to get a good seat!

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

ANNA GÖLDI was the last woman to be legally executed after being accused of witchcraft in Switzerland, in 1782 – that’s just seven years before the French Revolution. She worked as a maid, looking after a young girl who allegedly began spitting up needles. Her wealthy employers accused her of witchcraft, and she was tortured until she admitted being in league with the devil. She was sentenced to death by decapitation for poisoning, even though the girl had not died. Her case was acknowledged as a miscarriage of justice in 2007.

ESTER KRUMBACHOVÁ was a Czech screen writer, costume and stage designer, author, and film director. She had a defining influence on Czech New Wave cinema, collaborating on more than twenty movies from the early 1960s on. Her involvement in the satire A Report on the Party and Guests meant she was blacklisted from working in film by the Czechoslovakian communist party during much of the 1980s. She worked under pseudonyms, painted and made jewelry, returning to the film industry in the 1990s.

Dame MIRIAM ROTHSCHILD was a British zoologist, entomologist, and botanist. From a wealthy family with an active interest in nature, she started collecting ladybirds and caterpillars and taking a tame quail to bed with her at the age of four. During a spell of WWII codebreaking at Bletchley Park, she pressured the British government to take in more Jewish refugees, providing housing for 49 children in her own (stately) home. She then became a leading authority on fleas, with side-lines in other parasites, butterflies, and meadow restoration.