I lived in San Diego in the early 1980’s. Balboa Park had an awesome history museum and one month they had actual working antique guillotines lined up in one of the courtyards.
(Of course they were locked so no one could hurt themselves. Safety First!)
It was absolutely chilling to be near them; very scary, imposing, unnerving - but quite the efficient way to clear out a lot of (perceived) traitors for the times.