Executioner Johan Olofsson's receipt for the cost of executing Gertrud Jonsdotter, aged 50, and Sigrid Eriksdotter, aged 70, for witchcraft in Sveg's parish, Härjedalen, Sweden. The receipt is dated January 12, 1674.
Thank you for the conversion update to SEK and US$😜, but how much was those 15 daler at that time? This is, what could you buy with that amount or... which was the price of a pig or a cow, for instance? Thanks
I was thinking today about an experience I had about 25 years ago, which some #Histodons might know something about and which might be of interest to others. I grew up in Pforzheim, a town in Southern Germany that was destroyed in an air raid in 1945. (1/🧵)
Around February 23, the day of the town's destruction in 1945, there are commemorative events, as well as a shameful vigil with torches conducted by neo-Nazis. The local newspaper "Pforzheimer Zeitung", which reports on this, had a display case near my school, and one day I stood in front of it and read the daily edition. (2/🧵)
An old woman was standing next to me and after a while she engaged me in conversation. She told me that as a teenager she experienced the last months of World War II as a "Luftwaffenhelferin" (basically a child soldier in the Luftwaffe). (3/🧵)
She told me that in the final months the Luftwaffe still had fighter planes, but no more pilots - and that she and other Luftwaffenhelferinnen were given a crash course and then put into fighter-interceptors. The aim of this was not that they score kills, but to feign strength and still-existing capacities. (4/🧵)
She described how she (in a very frightened state of mind) took part in several missions in Baden, was then transferred with her unit to the Rhine-Main area and continued to fly missions until there was no more fuel left. She also experienced the end of the war there. (5/🧵)
At the time, I had no idea that I would one day become a historian, so I listened to the story with interest, but made no effort to secure contact details. In recent years, I have occasionally thought about the story and made a cursory search on the internet - but have not found any mention of female child soldier pilots at the end of the Second World War. (6/🧵)
My question to you: How plausible is this story? Are you aware of similar cases? Has the old woman been pulling my leg - or have I possibly received a testimony of something that has not yet been particularly researched? (7/7, end of 🧵)
Given how many "impossible" things became possible in and around the german "Volkssturm" initiative towards the end of the war, I guess this in particular is also completely in the realm of possible, without having any factual proof myself.
For more context see also https://www.zeit.de/kultur/2015-05/wehrmacht-frauen-geschichtsschreibung-hagemann
@werner_habel@goldenassam@histodons@histodon@tag-histodons There were some female pilots - look up Hanna Reitsch, Beate Uhse (don't do this at work or in public ;) ) or Melitta Schenk Gräfin von Stauffenberg.
You also should take a look into this book, which should answer your question. The reviews are mentioning that female pilots were used at the end of the war