Erschiessen

Erschiessen (standard German spelling erschießen; erschiessen is an historical or regional variant) is a verb meaning to cause death by shooting, usually by firing squad or other firearm, or to be shot to death. The act is commonly associated with capital punishment, military justice, or extrajudicial killings. The prefix er- can convey completion or result, while schießen means to shoot with a firearm.

Historically, shooting has been a widely used method of execution in many armies and legal systems. In the 19th and 20th centuries, firing squads were deployed to execute deserters, spies, political dissidents, or condemned criminals. In authoritarian regimes, mass killings by shooting were used as tools of repression and control.

Today, the death penalty by firing squad is rare and controversial in many parts of the world. Several countries have abolished capital punishment or restricted its application, sometimes prohibiting specific methods of execution. Where it remains legal, firing squads are usually governed by strict procedures to minimize suffering, though practices vary by country and era.

The word is primarily used in historical or descriptive contexts in German; the standard orthography is erschießen, while erschiessen appears mainly as an alternative spelling in some texts or dialects.