Anatole Deibler
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Anatole Deibler (29 November 1863 - 2 February 1939) was a French
executioner An executioner, also known as a hangman or headsman, is an official who executes a sentence of capital punishment on a legally condemned person. Scope and job The executioner was usually presented with a warrant authorising or order ...
from
Rennes Rennes (; br, Roazhon ; Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in northwestern France at the confluence of the Ille and the Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the region of Brittany, as well as the Ille-et-Vilaine department ...
. His ancestors Hans and Michael Deibler were executioners in
Augsburg Augsburg (; bar , Augschburg , links=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swabian_German , label=Swabian German, , ) is a city in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany, around west of Bavarian capital Munich. It is a university town and regional seat of the ' ...
in the 16th and 17th centuries, and he succeeded his father, Louis-Antoine-Stanislas Deibler, and his grandfather, Joseph-Antoine Deibler, as the executioner of the
French Third Republic The French Third Republic (french: Troisième République, sometimes written as ) was the system of government adopted in France from 4 September 1870, when the Second French Empire collapsed during the Franco-Prussian War, until 10 July 1940 ...
. He participated in the execution of 395 criminals during his 54-year career: during his 40 years as lead executioner, he was responsible for 299
beheading Decapitation or beheading is the total separation of the head from the body. Such an injury is invariably fatal to humans and most other animals, since it deprives the brain of oxygenated blood, while all other organs are deprived of the i ...
s. In the early 20th century, Deibler was deemed the "most hated man in France". There was more prejudice against him than American or English executioners because of a superstition that a French headsman had an
evil eye The Evil Eye ( grc, ὀφθαλμὸς βάσκανος; grc-koi, ὀφθαλμὸς πονηρός; el, (κακό) μάτι; he, עַיִן הָרָע, ; Romanian: ''Deochi''; it, malocchio; es, mal de ojo; pt, mau-olhado, olho gordo; ar ...
that brought death or disaster to whoever caught glimpse. Deibler was in danger of being mobbed wherever he went and would often conceal his identity. At the time, his annual salary was around 6,000 francs ($1,200 in 1907 and $36,000 in 2022) while an additional 8,000 francs was paid for upkeep of the guillotine and 10 francs were paid for every day the guillotine was in operation. It is estimated Diebler's net annual income was around 30,000 francs ($6,000 in 1907 and $180,000 in 2022). He is considered one of the most famous French executioners. This is due to the fact that most of his executions were public and were widely reported by the media. The advent of the
camera A camera is an Optics, optical instrument that can capture an image. Most cameras can capture 2D images, with some more advanced models being able to capture 3D images. At a basic level, most cameras consist of sealed boxes (the camera body), ...
made him somewhat of a celebrity. Deibler died suddenly from a heart attack at a metro station while on his way to his 300th execution.Se
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See also

*
Abel Pollet Abel Pollet (9 October 1873 – 11 January 1909) was a French gangster and murderer. The leader, with his brother Auguste, of the Pollet gang, four of whose members, including Abel and Auguste, were beheaded in January 1909, as convicted murde ...
*
Guillotine A guillotine is an apparatus designed for efficiently carrying out executions by beheading. The device consists of a tall, upright frame with a weighted and angled blade suspended at the top. The condemned person is secured with stocks at th ...


Sources

* Cora Lynn Deibler: ''Anatole Deibler, Last Public Executioner in France''. 2011. * Geoffrey Abbott: ''Execution: A Guide to the Ultimate Penalty''. Summersdale Publishers Ltd, 2012. * Anatole Deibler: ''Carnets d'exécutions, 1885–1939,'', présentés et annotés par Gérard A. Jaeger, Éditions L'Archipel, Paris 2004. * Robert Frederick Opie: ''Guillotine: The Timbers of Justice''. The History Press The Mill, Gloucestershire 2013.


Notes and references


External links


boisdejustice.com

Letter from Paris
The New York, February 18, 1939
Photo from 1923
criminalwisdom.tumblr.com
Must Keep On Beheading People as Long as He Lives
The Milwaukee Sentinel The ''Milwaukee Journal Sentinel'' is a daily morning broadsheet printed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where it is the primary newspaper. It is also the largest newspaper in the state of Wisconsin, where it is widely distributed. It is currently o ...
, January 22, 1939 1863 births 1939 deaths French executioners People from Rennes {{France-bio-stub