What is Anna Göldi?
[[File:Nzz anna goeldin.jpg|thumb|right|A paper clipping (advert) in what is today the ''Neue Zürcher Zeitung''. It is a text looking for Anna Göldin (who was accused of witchcraft)]] '''Anna Göldi''' (or '''Anna Göldin''', Göldin is the female form of the name) (24 October 1734 - 13 June 1782) was probably the last person in [[Europe]] to be [[execution|executed]] as a [[witch]]. ==Life, and accusations of witchcraft== Göldin was born into a poor family and worked as a servant. She had two children. Her first child died shortly after being born, and Göldin was accused (and sentenced) for killing it. She later worked for a [[physician]] from [[Glarus (canton)|Glarus]], [[Jakob Tschudi]], who was one of the richest and most influential people in the [[Cantons of Switzerland|Canton]] of Glarus. When she worked there, small needles were found in the milk for one of the daughters of Tschudi. Additionally, Tschudi's relatives claimed that the daughter had spewn [[nail]]s on several occasions. For this reason, Göldin was accused of bewitching Tchudi's daughter. Under [[torture]], she confessed that she had used the powers of the [[Devil]]. On 13 June 1782, she was sentenced to die by the [[sword]], but [[The Verdict|the verdict]] did not mention [[witchcraft]]. The execution followed soon afterwards. After the execution, the paper trail was destroyed. Despite these efforts, the case created an uproar in other parts of [[Switzerland]] and in [[Germany]] because the public saw Göldin as an innocent victim. ==What may have happened== Walter Hauser, a [[journalist]], looked at sources{{fact|date=September 2013}} that were not known to date. He thinks Göldin might have had an affair with her master, Johann Jakob Tschudin. During this affair, he might possibly have [[rape]]d her.{{fact|date=September 2013}} [[Adultery|Adulterers]] were seen as unfit to hold a public office, at the time. For this reason, Tschudi may have decided to do away with Göldi. He initiated the trial for witchcraft, which ended in her execution.