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Beheading with a sword or axe goes back a very long way in history. This method was used in the 20th century but is now confined to Saudi Arabia, Quatar, and Yeman.
This capital punishment was reserved to noblemen or persons belonging to the upper class . This was perhaps due to a remainder of the customs in ancient Rome, where condemned criminals only were subjected to decapitation if they claimed ( and proved ) to be a citizen of Rome ( " Civis romanus sum !") Otherwise they had to endure crucifixion or other more painful ways to be executed .
It is effective and is probably as humane as any other modern form if carried out correctly, but is also extremely gruesome.Beheading requires a skilled headsman if it is to be at all humane, and frequently several blows are required to sever the head.
The prisoner is usually blindfolded so that they do not see the sword or axe coming and move at the crucial moment.It was not unusual for an assistant to hold the
prisoners hair to prevent them from moving. In any event the results are gory to the extreme, as bloodspurts from severed arteries and viens of the neck including the aorta and the jugular vien. No doubt these two factors have lead to it's abandonment by most countries.
It is probable that when a single blow is sufficient to decapitate the prisoner, they become unconscious within a few seconds. They die from shock and anoxia due to hemorrage and loss of blood pressure within less than 60 seconds.
However
because of muscles, and vertibrae in the neck are tough, decapitation might require more than one blow.
It has often been reported the the eyes and mouths of people beheaded have shown signs of movement. It has been calculated that the human brain has enough oxygen stored for metabolism to persist about seven seconds after the supply is cut off.
These executions were mostly public and always attracted a large crowd , who had a very critical eye upon the abilities of the executioner . If the decapitation was not done properly, it could happen for the unfortunate executioner to be lynched by an angry mob.
In the 19th century most european countries abandoned these bloody and messy practices and installed other types of executions.
In Germany it depended on the different "Länder" : those regions who were under french occupation during the Revolution adopted the guillotine very early (1800 -1818 ) , others like Bavaria in the year 1854 .
In Berlin the decapitation with the axe remained in application until 1938, when the guillotine and hanging became the only legal means of execution.
One of the last famous executions in this medieval manner were those of; the Baroness Benita von Falkenhayn and her friend Renate von Natzner , who were accused of spying and beheaded with the axe by the executioner Karl Groepler at the Berlin-Plötzensee - Prison on 18th february 1935 !
