French Guillotine - modele 70-72
constructed 1870 - 1872
French Guillotine - modele 70-72
constructed 1870 - 1872
The guillotine got his name from the french doctor Joseph Ignace Guillotin , who proposed this device to the french National Assembly . He was however not able to make the construction plans , these were done by a collegue of him, the Dr. Louis , a surgeon, who also was the secretary of the surgical academy . The construction was carried out by the german Tobias Schmidt , who was in the piano-making business.
The idea for a beheading-machine was not new and there were some precursors who made their job since the 15th century
This device was called " Mannaja" in Italy, "Halifax Gibet" in England
and " Maiden" in Scotland .
| To be decapitated with the "Mannaja" was a privilege for the
nobility .
22 -year old Beatrice Cenci , who had murdered her father, was executed on the 10th september 1599 in Rome with a similar machine |
 |
Click the picture to see a woman being decapitated at the guillotine
Most people found the death on the guillotine during the french Terreur
, only to be surpassed by the executions during the National-Socialist
aerea
in Germany (1933-1945).
The estimations for this period are about 12.000 executions , mostly
by the guillotine !
The guillotine was largely adopted by many continental european countries like Belgium , Germany, Sweden , but she never made her way to Great Britain who was very conservative and preferred hanging !
Read about the execution of Grete Beier , decapitated in Germany in 1908 !
