Ain Mere (from birth to Estification Ervin Martson; 22 February 1903 – 5 April 1969) was an

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, an ...

n military officer in World War II. During the German occupation of Estonia, he served in the German-controlled Estonian Security Police and SD.

Career

He was born in

Vändra Vändra (german: Fennern) is a borough ( et, alev) in Põhja-Pärnumaa Parish in Pärnu County, Estonia. It has a population of 2,191 and an area of 3.28 km². Vändra is the birthplace of Estonian journalist and poet Johann Voldemar Janns ...

and fought voluntarily in the

Estonian War of Independence The Estonian War of Independence ( et, Vabadussõda, literally "Freedom War"), also known as the Estonian Liberation War, was a defensive campaign of the Estonian Army and its allies, most notably the United Kingdom, against the Bolshevik westw ...

. In early 1919, Mere was wounded while serving on an armored train and was sent to the rear. According to the KGB archives, he was drafted as an agent of

NKVD The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (russian: Наро́дный комиссариа́т вну́тренних дел, Naródnyy komissariát vnútrennikh del, ), abbreviated NKVD ( ), was the interior ministry of the Soviet Union. ...

in 1940–1941. Mere's reports on the resettlement of

Baltic Germans Baltic Germans (german: Deutsch-Balten or , later ) were ethnic German inhabitants of the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea, in what today are Estonia and Latvia. Since their coerced resettlement in 1939, Baltic Germans have markedly decline ...

and the exposure of underground Estonian organisations reached the desk of

Lavrenti Beria Lavrentiy Pavlovich Beria (; rus, Лавре́нтий Па́влович Бе́рия, Lavréntiy Pávlovich Bériya, p=ˈbʲerʲiə; ka, ლავრენტი ბერია, tr, ; – 23 December 1953) was a Georgian Bolshevik ...

. In recognition of his performance Mere was appointed the director of a special department of the Estonian Rifle Corps. He was known under code name "Müller". In July 1941 Mere surrendered himself to the German military. He was a member of the Estonian Security Police (Group B of the

Sicherheitspolizei The ''Sicherheitspolizei'' ( en, Security Police), often abbreviated as SiPo, was a term used in Germany for security police. In the Nazi era, it referred to the state political and criminal investigation security agencies. It was made up by the ...

) under the

Estonian Self-Administration Estonian Self-Administration ( et, Eesti Omavalitsus, german: Estnische Selbstverwaltung), also known as the ''Directorate'', was the puppet government set up in Estonia during the occupation of Estonia by Nazi Germany. It was headed by Hjalmar ...

and participated in the Holocaust. On 5 February 1945, in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitu ...

, he founded the ''

Eesti Vabadusliit Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to ...

'', an anti-communist group, together with fellow

Waffen-SS The (, "Armed SS") was the combat branch of the Nazi Party's ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with Waffen-SS foreign volunteers and conscripts, volunteers and conscripts from both occup ...

commander

Harald Riipalu Harald Riipalu (born as Harald Reibach) (13 February 1912 – 4 April 1961) was an Estonian commander in the German Wehrmacht and the Waffen-SS during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross of Nazi Germany. Ca ...

Trial in absentia

In March 1961, the Soviet court accused during the

War crimes trials in Soviet Estonia A number of war crimes trials were held during the Soviet occupation of Estonia (1944–1991). The best-known trial was brought in 1961, by the Soviet authorities against local collaborators who had participated in the Holocaust during the Germa ...

the German Security Police in Estonia, headed by Mere (and later by ) to have been actively involved in the arrest and killing of

Estonian Jews The history of Jews in Estonia starts with reports of the presence of individual Jews in what is now Estonia from as early as the 14th century. Jews were settled in Estonia in the 19th century, especially following a statute of Russian Tsa ...

along with

Ralf Gerrets A number of war crimes trials were held during the Soviet occupation of Estonia (1944–1991). The best-known trial was brought in 1961, by the Soviet authorities against local collaborators who had participated in the Holocaust during the Ger ...

and

Jaan Viik A number of war crimes trials were held during the Soviet occupation of Estonia (1944–1991). The best-known trial was brought in 1961, by the Soviet authorities against local collaborators who had participated in the Holocaust during the Germa ...

. The police were also actively engaged in actions against Estonians deemed to be opponents of Nazi Germany.Conclusions of the Estonian International Commission for the Investigation of Crimes Against Humanity
—
Phase II: The German occupation of Estonia in 1941–1944
'' Though at the time he was residing in

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

, Mere was sentenced to death for his role during the war. The

British government ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd , image = HM Government logo.svg , image_size = 220px , image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg , image_size2 = 180px , caption = Royal Arms , date_est ...

refused to extradite him, citing a lack of evidence on the part of the Soviet authorities,Reuter, 11 March 1961 and he died at the age of 66 in

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city l ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mere, Ain-Ervin 1903 births 1969 deaths People from Vändra People from Kreis Pernau Estonian collaborators with Nazi Germany SS-Obersturmbannführer Soviet Union–United Kingdom relations Estonian expatriates in the United Kingdom Estonian military personnel of the Estonian War of Independence People sentenced to death in absentia by the Soviet Union Recipients of the Iron Cross (1939), 1st class Holocaust perpetrators in Estonia Estonian Waffen-SS personnel Estonian spies