Judge ax (penal system)

Aligning ax with aligning block in the Sauerland Museum Arnsberg

The ax , like the sword, is a device with which an executioner performed his work. It is by no means to be confused with the ax of the same name , which was used for woodworking in the wheelwright .

The death penalty and the prison system

The ax was used in some parts of the German states, particularly in large parts of Prussia, to carry out the death penalty until 1938 . In Sweden it last happened in 1900, when the mass murderer Johan Filip Nordlund was beheaded .

This was a heavy ax that could be handled with two hands, which had a strong penetrating power due to its own weight and was used in connection with an execution block or bench , in front of which or on which the condemned were strapped.

Straightening block with ax
Sentence on a ceiling painting:
" Whoever does not keep the peace, the hand falls for (him) "
On April 17, 1885, Friedrich Reindel beheaded the murderer Anton Giepsz using a bench and ax