Helena Curtens (c. 1722 – c. 1738) was a German woman who, along with Agnes Olmans, was one of the last individuals to be executed for witchcraft in Germany. Her case, originating in Gerresheim (near Düsseldorf, then part of the Electorate of Cologne), represents a significant event at the very end of the European witch hunt era, as the Age of Enlightenment began to challenge such superstitions.
Curtens, a young woman, was accused of witchcraft in 1737. The accusations against her and Olmans included making a pact with the Devil, attending witches' Sabbaths, and causing harm to people and livestock through sorcery. These charges were typical of witch trials across Europe during previous centuries.
The trials of Curtens and Olmans were conducted by the local court in Gerresheim. Under the prevailing legal procedures of the time, which often included the use of torture to extract confessions, both women confessed to the alleged crimes. Their confessions, obtained under duress, detailed conventional witchcraft narratives.
Despite the declining belief in witchcraft among educated elites and the emerging rationalism of the Enlightenment, the trials proceeded. The cases attracted considerable attention and controversy, even at the time. Despite calls for leniency or review, particularly from some legal scholars and officials who doubted the veracity of the confessions and the legitimacy of the charges, the sentences were upheld.
Helena Curtens and Agnes Olmans were ultimately condemned to death and executed by burning in 1738. Their executions are widely regarded by historians as among the final documented instances of capital punishment for witchcraft in the Holy Roman Empire (Germany) and specifically in the Rhineland. Their cases are often studied as a testament to the persistent, though diminishing, power of belief in witchcraft and the slow transition away from such judicial practices in the 18th century.