 Most of these took place during the 1950s; three known executions took place in the 70s and two in the 80s.The guillotine (called the "Fallschwertmaschine", "falling sword machine") was used for the last time on former SS doctor Horst Fischer in 1966, after which it was replaced by execution by shooting (an "unexpected close shot in the back of the head"; ""unerwarteter Nahschuss in das Hinterhaupt"").East Germany was notable for its secrecy about its executions, even when the death warrants had been issued in show trials; death certificates mostly stated instead "heart failure".