DÜSSELDORF

Witch Hunt and Misogyny:

Düsseldorf’s Past in the Light of a Procession

The Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation (HRR) was the scene of Europe’s most intense witch persecutions, with an estimated 25,000 to 40,000 executions between the 15th and 17th centuries. In Gerresheim/Düsseldorf, unusually late in 1738, a witch burning took place – the last in the Rhineland. The story of Helena Curtens and Agnes Olmans, burned in 1738, continues to shape Düsseldorf to this day, led to rehabilitation debates in 2011, but was subsequently forgotten. On 30 April 2025, two stars of the German ballroom scene, the artists ZOE and Sophie Yukiko, revived the memory of these women with a powerful Walpurgis Night procession at the Theatre Museum Düsseldorf and drew parallels to misogyny and the #MeToo movement.

The event began at the Goethe Museum, where the new director, Dr Boris Roman Gibhardt, curated an exhibition with historical writings and drawings on witch persecution. ZOE, an interdisciplinary artist, delivered a moving speech that demystified the concept of the witch: “The witch represents a self-confident woman who resists patriarchal norms,” she said, emphasising that intelligent, successful, or independent women – then as now – are quickly stigmatised as a threat. In an interview given to ALETHEA TALKS, ZOE also denounced victim-blaming: “Such victim-blaming makes me incredibly angry,” she said, referring to theologians who attribute “partial blame” to the victims.

Historical Witch Hunt in Contemporary Form

Inspired by #MeToo, the procession recalled historical witch hunts in current forms of misogynistic violence, as seen in the cases of Sean Combs or Harvey Weinstein.

The procession moved from Alleestraße to the Hofgarten, led by ZOE and Sophie Yukiko with torches. From about 100 guests, hundreds emerged as passers-by spontaneously joined, holding candles in their hands. At the Theatre Museum, the participants formed a circle. Sophie Yukiko led a profound discourse on witch persecution, which deeply moved the visitors emotionally. The event concluded with a ritual in which each person received a glass as a symbol of community.

Why No Legal Rehabilitation of “Witches” Occurred in Germany

The witch persecution in the HRR, Holy Roman Empire, relied on the Constitutio Criminalis Carolina (1532). With the dissolution of the HRR in 1806, there is no legal successor, which complicates legal rehabilitation. Rehabilitation under § 359 StPO is impossible without new evidence.

Meanwhile in Düsseldorf – “For All the Tormented and Outcast”

The topic of witch rehabilitation emerged in Düsseldorf in 2011, when Andreas Vogt from the “Düsselhexen” association demanded a socio-ethical rehabilitation, supported by artist Jacques Tilly, to set a sign against violence and exclusion. Resistance came from theologians like Bernhard Meisen, who spoke of “moral guilt,” and the then CDU culture official Hans-Georg Lohe, who emphasised the lack of a legal successor. Today, there is a witch memorial stone in Düsseldorf. It stands in Düsseldorf-Gerresheim at the Schönau-/corner Dreherstraße with the name “Helene-Curtens-and-Agnes-Olmans-Platz”. The stone itself is truly beautiful and does justice to its significance. It was designed by artist Gabriele Tefke and depicts a crushed and constrained female figure bound by shackles. The artist aimed to show how monstrous the pressure of persecution and torture must have been for the women. It is inscribed: “The dignity of the human being is inviolable,” the text subsequently refers to the two witches and concludes with “for all the tormented and outcast”.

Meanwhile in the USA

A comparison with the Salem witch trials (1692–1693) in Massachusetts illustrates the paths of reappraisal possible in a different legal system. In the infamous trials, which took place in the Puritan colony, around 200 people were accused of witchcraft, 30 were convicted, and 19 were executed by hanging; one further person died under torture. The trials, marked by religious zeal and questionable evidence, ended in 1693 when public scepticism grew and the governor dissolved the courts.

Gubernatorial Pardons

As early as 1702, the General Court of Massachusetts declared the trials unlawful. In 1711, a general amnesty followed, which annulled the convictions of 22 persons, restored their honour, and granted financial compensation to some families, remarkable as it occurred in a time without modern legal understanding. In 1957, Massachusetts passed a resolution further confirming the innocence of the convicted, and in 2001, Governor Jane Swift signed a formal declaration of innocence for five more women convicted in the trials, finally rehabilitating their names.

The US legal system, common law, enables such symbolic gestures through gubernatorial pardons or legislative resolutions. German civil law requires new evidence or procedural errors for a retrial under § 359 StPO.

How Art Exposes Misogyny

ZOE and Sophie Yukiko moved the guests more emotionally than memorial stones could. Their procession linked historical injustices with the #MeToo debate and showed how art exposes misogyny. Düsseldorf, as the site of the last witch burnings in the Rhineland, could use this approach to address the past and fuel current debates.

Photos/Videos: Claudia Greta Mauer

#AletheaTalks #WitchPersecution #MeToo

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