Soviet executioner’s thermometer

This thermometer was used by executioners working for the NKVD, the secret police of the Soviet Union between 1934 and 1946. After shooting someone, they wanted to make sure that he or she was really dead. The thermometer was stabbed into the body of the person – usually into the stomach – to check that the temperature of the person had dropped, indicating death. If the temperature had not fallen, the executioner would fire a second shot.