Anna Maria was the wife of George Conrad "The Elder" and was the last person charged with witchcraft in the village of Kleinheubach, Germany. She survived brutal torture and the death of the rest of her family. Her horrific ordeal at the hands of the Holy Roman Church is the subject of my semi-fictional book "The Last Heretic". * Read the Prologue * Readers Comments. More to the Story and Conflicts.....
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Based on a true story – by D.S. Conrad
Prologue
The Early Church
As the veil of the dark ages began to lift over Europe, fear and ignorance began to give way to compassion and freethinking. For centuries, Europe had been kept under the crushing heel of the most oppressive and bloody organization in mankind’s history, the Holy Roman Church. The Church countered its loosening grip on society with charges of witchcraft and heresy. The torture and deaths of thousands would keep the Church’s tight grip over the entire population. The Church saw what you did. The Church heard what you said. There was nowhere to hide. The ultimate power enjoyed by the Holy Roman Church over the masses included the darkest side of human nature. Greed and corruption manifesting itself behind the scenes crept brazenly to surface. The endless desire for money and power resulted in some fundamental changes to the very fabric of the Church. Seeking to raise funds to build the Basilica of St Peter in Rome, Pope Leo X decreed in 1517 that forgiveness of one’s sins by monetary payment to the Church would be instituted. The selling of these papal indulgences outraged many people, including clergy. The country had yet to recover from the ravages of the Thirty Years War, which was now fragmented into Protestant and Catholic principalities. A great schism had been created, both religious and political. Into these chaotic times a child was born whose life and death would change the life of many thousands. She would not be remembered by history. Her name was Anna. |
"Just this minute I finished your book and I am writing to you with tears still running down my cheeks." - Linda, Calgary, AB
"Thank you for writing such a thought provoking book, as well as teaching me something I knew nothing about. BRILLIANT!!!!!!" -Tracey, Richmond
"This book was so well written I felt like I was there witnessing the unthinkable acts towards Anna Maria. I couldn't put it down"- Peggy, McLure, BC
We both read THE LAST HERETIC....what a terrible but captivating story!..We both read it in 2 days as we could not put it down...thanks so much for offering it to us... - Nicole, St Souveur, PQ
I received a copy of The Last Heretic in the mail and both my wife and I read it in 2 days. It was very well written and both difficult and fascinating to read. Difficult to read in part because Anna Marie was a relative of ours, albeit many generations in the past, and also because what happened to her, happened to many innocent victims. Thanks ever so much for this fascinating glance into Conrad family history! - Christopher, St John's, NL.
I sat right down and read it from cover to cover. Just had to finish it before I called it a day. It was very riveting -- yet so sad, too. I never realized things were like that -- hope we never see that dark side again. Would make a good movie. - Shirley, Carver, MA.
There are a few conflicts in the story of Anna. While my book is a semi-fiction, the full account of Anna's family is even more horrific. For instance, Anna was pregnant during her tortures which she had to endure on more than one occaision and her mother Maria and brothers George, Stefan and Hans(and his wife Margarethe) were tortured and burned at the stake.
Conflicts.......
While there is documentation showing that Anna was married to a Hans Heinrich, her sons Burkhardt and Lorentz are listed as having Jeorg (George Conrad) as their father. Hans Heinrich's signature, along with Anna's, can be seen in the figure below which is a document stating that Hans Heinrich and Anna will be responsible for the costs of her trial. If this is Hans Heinrich, the son of Matthais, he would be nearly 100 years old. It is noted that this Hans Heinrich has a beautiful signature. How many people nearly 100 years old could possible write this beautifully? Young Anna lists her father as Hans Heinrich. If this was Hans Heinrich senior, he would have had children who were half-siblings to his grandchildren. Not very plausable. Pastor Wagner believes that Hans Heinrich and George may have been brothers. Was there a Hans Heinrich junior(brother to George) who also married Anna after George's death? Due to the records being destroyed around that time, we may never know and can only speculate at this point. In the end though, Anna was never cleared of witchcraft and remains today, Kleinheubach's last witch/heretic.
