Dorothee Elisabeth Tretschlaff

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Dorothee Elisabeth Tretschlaff (* 1685 ; † February 17, 1701 in Fergitz in the Uckermark ) was executed as a witch by beheading . She was probably the last victim of the witch hunt in Brandenburg .

Sources

In the case of the just fifteen-year-old maid Dorothee Elisabeth Tretschlaff, no trial files have been found so far, only a report by the court and district judge of the Uckermark, Thomas Böttcher, who ruled on the legality of the trial and the hasty execution, can be found in the Secret State Archives of Prussian Cultural Heritage . The report was requested by the Berlin government under King Friedrich I just a few days after Dorothee Elisabeth Tretschlaff was beheaded. This fact alone shows that the quick execution in 1701 was no longer an undisputed event. Not only the state government paid attention to the execution, the process and the verdict were also discussed publicly in the inns and jugs. Thomas Böttcher criticized the proceedings because he saw the young person as much less a dangerous witch than a melancholy, suicidal young woman whose possibilities to defend herself against the witch trial had not been sufficiently considered. However, those responsible for the proceedings, the owner of the jurisdiction Lieutenant Colonel von Münchow and the judge and tax officer Friedrich Roth commissioned by him, were able to cleanse themselves of any suspicion of illegal proceedings.

Witch trial

Schadenzauber remained completely unimportant in the trial against Dorothee Elisabeth Tretschlaff. The devil is said to have brought her money and a pumpkin, but it was not directly linked to harm to others. Instead, depictions of affection for the devil or demonic appearances dominated, which seem to reinforce the reality of the devil's pact . The girl reported how the devil kept looking up and seducing her with a lot of money in his pockets, giving him some of it, playing the violin to him in broad daylight in the presence of others while picking lilacs. It is said to have come to woo when she was sick in bed with other maids. In keeping with the theological ideas of the devil incapable of procreation, however, no seed flowed. However, due to the vague statements, Böttcher doubted the veracity of the affection. These maids told of a strange rabbit under the accused's bed, of the devil in the form of a blowfly that flew humming through the room at night, and of a ghost. At least there were attempts within the procedure to check the reality of these statements. The girl said that she had hidden a coin received from the devil in the wall of the old house. However, the court couldn't find this money.

It remains to be seen whether these statements can be used in encrypted form to relate to everyday life and to Dorothee Elisabeth Tretschlaff's experience, or whether they are merely the result of the interrogation situation.

Commemoration

Makeshift monument for Dorothee Elisabeth Tretschlaff (2008)

In 2008 a makeshift memorial was erected for Dorothee Elisabeth Tretschlaff as part of an art exhibition. Under the patronage of the Friends of Uckermark e. V. and Freundeskreis Fergitz e. V. is to create a permanent memorial.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Tretschlaff, Dorothee Elisabeth
BRIEF DESCRIPTION last of Brandenburg convicted and executed as a "witch"
DATE OF BIRTH 1685
DATE OF DEATH February 17, 1701
Place of death Fergitz near Gerswalde