Henker - Der Tod hat ein Gesicht (2002)

They are the only men who are allowed to kill. Each in his own way. Always at the break of day. They carry out a sentence pronounced by rule of law. Hangmen. They now reveal themselves. Tell us about their lives. Tell us about their "trade". After five years of research and shooting, this unique film is now completed. The last executioners of Germany, the former East Germany, France, Hungary, Yugoslavia and Romania have faced the camera. They are living eye-witnesses of the end of an era: 800 years of the death penalty in Europe. The film provides the viewer with a close-up biographical look at the lives of the enforcers of this penalty and of their personal fates. The careers and personalities of the individual hangmen mesh into an inconsistent whole.