Throughout the centuries in France, there were thousands of people who were executed
on the guillotine. The device rose to prominence during the French Revolution as the King and
Queen of France both lost their heads on the guillotine, and thousands more who opposed
the revolution were executed on it during the Reign of Terror. It was a device which
was used by many different countries to execute people who dissented and were accused of treason.
Hitler during the Second World War would execute many quickly for their resistance to the Nazi
Party, and the device which was once seen as a symbol of the French Revolution’s morals
became a symbol of oppression. However the final guillotine execution took place in 1977,
with Hamida Djandoubi being beheaded inside the walls of a French prison after he murdered
a young woman. But the final public execution in France took place in June 1939, after a
German criminal and serial killer was executed in front of a crowd. Join us today as we look
at the exe union of Eugen Weidmann, and remember to support our channel, please make sure to
subscribe.
Eugen Weidmann was born in Frankfurt, and as the First World War broke out he went to
live with his granparents and whilst there he started a life of crime. He started stealing,
and would later serve 5 years imprisonment for Robbert, but behind bars he met two other
men who he became close with and Weidmann, Roger Million and Jean Blanc became partners
in crime. Following their release, they worked together to kidnap rich tourists who were
coming to France, and they stole their money and even rented a villa for this. They attempted
first to kidnap a victim however this person struggled too much and they were forced to
let him go. But then in July 1937 they tried again, and tried to abduct Jean de Koen, a
22 year old New York City dancer. De Koen was visiting her aunt, and he later wrote
that, ‘"I have just met a charming German of keen intelligence who calls himself Siegfried.
Perhaps I am going to another Wagnerian role – who knows? I am going to visit him tomorrow
at his villa in a beautiful place near a famous mansion that Napoleon gave Josephine.”
During the meeting they smoked, and she was given a glass of milk. However Wiedmann then
strangled her, killing her and buried her in the garden of the villa. There was a hunt
for Jean De Koen by her family, but later that year Wiedmann hired a Chauffeur named
Joseph Couffy. He drove Weidmann to the French Riviera and in a forest, Wiedmann shot him
in the neck and stole his car along with his money. He continued his murderous streak,
as he lured a nurse into a cave in a forest, and whilst here he killed her shooting her
in the neck before he robbed her and stole her diamond ring. Further attacks occurred,
as Weidmann arranged a meeting with a theatrical producer, and then shot him in the back and
stole 5000 francs. He then murderered again, killing Fritz Frommer a man he met in jail,
who had been imprisoned for anti Nazi views. Yet again he was shot in the neck, and 5 days
later Weidmann committed his final murder, killing an estate agent.
Eventually Eugen Weidmann was tracked down to the villa, and two officers were waiting
for him as he arrived home. He then fired at them three times with his pistol, but the
wounded men managed to wrestle the serial killer and knock him out with a hammer. Weidmann
whilst he was imprisoned was very co-operative and he confessed to all of the murders, and
he said he regretted Jean de Koven’s. It was said Weidmann claimed, ‘She was gentle
and unsuspecting, when I reached for her throat she went down like a doll.’ Along with others,
he was placed on trial, and of the other co-defendants Weidmann was the only one who was sentenced
to death. His execution would be the final one in France to be performed in front of
the public, who were incredibly angry. This was a time in which people possessed camera’s
and their conduct at the execution of Weidmann was regarded as scandalous and hysterical,
and not proper.
It was for this that future executions were performed inside of prisons and in relative
secrecy away from the eyes of the everyday people. On the 17th June 1939, Weidmann was
led out of his prison cell at Saint Pierre Prison in Versailles out to the baying crowd.The
execution would be captured on film, and onlookers had queued and waited for hours to get a good
view of the guillotine and the blade falling on the neck of the serial killer. The execution
specifically took place in front of the prison’s doors, and executions were supposed to take
place before sunrise, however the execution of Weidmann was delayed as the crowd was so
large, and there were reporters there who were wanting to take photographs. These images
shocked the behaviour of the crowd which led to the guillotine being banished from use
in public view. But then later than scheduled, Eugen Weidmann was led out of the prison with
his hands tied behind his back, and he was wearing a white shirt which had been turned
down to keep his neck clear. The crowd was described as ‘a powerful wave of howling
and shrieking,’ and then he was quickly placed in front of the guillotine.
Quickly the execcutioner’s assistants bundled Weidmann onto the board, and then secured
and slid him under the blade as many prison guards and onlookers watched. He tried to
put up a bit of a fight, however quickly the executioner made his final checks before he
released the blade, and the blade fellbeheading Eugen Weidmann. Many people allegedly even
rushed to the corpse of Weidmann and some it was said ‘did not hesitate to soak their
hankerchiefs and scarves in the blood spread on the pavement as a souvenir.’ After this,
the guillotine was quickly dismantled ands the pavement was washed with water quickly
to get rid of the blood from the serial killer’s execution. Then normality resumed as the trams
passed by the prison, and two cafe’s were then opened.
But as the blade fell on the streets of Versailles, the execution of Eugen Weidmann was much more
historic than was believed to have been at the time. It would be the final public execution
in France, and the last to be performed in front of the eyes of the masses. Following
the scenes that happened, with people rushing the corpse and trying to dip their possessions
in blood, the French government deemed this to have been barbaric and medieval, and for
this they outlawed public executions.
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