Discharge circuit for discharging a smoothing capacitor of an electric power converter, comprising - two terminals being connectable to the smoothing capacitor; - a first discharging unit (i) connected in parallel to the terminals, (ii) configured to pull a current flowing between the terminals and (iii) comprising a resistive element and a switching element being configured to connect the resistive element to the terminals for pulling the current upon receiving a control signal; - a control unit configured to compare a first value representative of a voltage dropping over the terminals when the discharging unit pulls the current with a second value representative of the voltage being time delayed and to continue discharging the smoothing capacitor with a higher current than the pulled current depending on a result of the comparison; - a delay unit having a low pass element for delaying a time variation of the voltage or having a dead-time element configured to realize a fixed time offset; and - a second discharging unit (i) connected in parallel to the terminals, (ii) comprising a resistive element and a switching element connected in series to the resistive element and (iii) controllable by the control unit to discharge the smoothing capacitor if the discharging is to be continued; wherein the second value is provided to a first input port of the control unit by an output port of the delay unit connected to the first input port, the first value is provided to a second input port of the control unit and a control terminal of the switching element of the second discharging unit is connected to an output port of the control unit. - two terminals being connectable to the smoothing capacitor; - a first discharging unit (i) connected in parallel to the terminals, (ii) configured to pull a current flowing between the terminals and (iii) comprising a resistive element and a switching element being configured to connect the resistive element to the terminals for pulling the current upon receiving a control signal; (i) connected in parallel to the terminals, (ii) configured to pull a current flowing between the terminals and (iii) comprising a resistive element and a switching element being configured to connect the resistive element to the terminals for pulling the current upon receiving a control signal; - a control unit configured to compare a first value representative of a voltage dropping over the terminals when the discharging unit pulls the current with a second value representative of the voltage being time delayed and to continue discharging the smoothing capacitor with a higher current than the pulled current depending on a result of the comparison; - a delay unit having a low pass element for delaying a time variation of the voltage or having a dead-time element configured to realize a fixed time offset; and - a second discharging unit (i) connected in parallel to the terminals, (ii) comprising a resistive element and a switching element connected in series to the resistive element and (iii) controllable by the control unit to discharge the smoothing capacitor if the discharging is to be continued; wherein the second value is provided to a first input port of the control unit by an output port of the delay unit connected to the first input port, the first value is provided to a second input port of the control unit and a control terminal of the switching element of the second discharging unit is connected to an output port of the control unit. (i) connected in parallel to the terminals, (ii) comprising a resistive element and a switching element connected in series to the resistive element and (iii) controllable by the control unit to discharge the smoothing capacitor if the discharging is to be continued;