It is a mechanical decapitation device, invented in the period of the French Revolution. Created by Joseph Ignace Gillotin in 1738, the guillotine was intended to provide a quick and painless death to those condemned to death.
Dr. Gillotin defended in the National Assembly that this would be a a more humane, effective and egalitarian method, since at the time the nobles had privileges even at the time of their death.
However, with the French Revolution, anyone suspected of opposing the regime was beheaded, thus the guillotine was marked as a symbol of cruelty and oppression.