Overview

In the late 1930s, as Europe drifted toward war, Paris became the stage for one of the most unsettling criminal cases in modern French history. A series of calculated murders, committed by a German con man operating across borders, culminated in a public execution that would mark the end of an era. This true crime account examines the life and crimes of Eugen Weidmann, the last person executed by guillotine before a public crowd in France. His arrest and trial drew intense international attention, not only for the brutality of the crimes but for what they revealed about a continent on the brink of collapse. The case was closely followed by American journalist Janet Flanner, then serving as The New Yorker's Paris correspondent. Through her reporting, the story of a single killer became inseparable from the wider political and moral crisis overtaking Europe. Weidmann's violence, spectacle, and execution reflected a society increasingly desensitized to cruelty and authoritarian control. The Last Guillotine of Paris places a notorious murder case within its full historical context, tracing how crime, media, and rising extremism intersected in the final months before World War II. The result is a restrained, factual examination of violence, accountability, and the end of public execution in modern France.

Full Product Details

9798246535622

Table of Contents

Reviews

Author Information

Tab Content 6

Countries Available