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, and t ...

n military officer in World War II. During the German occupation of Estonia, he served in the German-controlled

Estonian Security Police and SD The Estonian Security Police and SD (german: Sicherheitspolizei und SD Estland, et, Eesti Julgeolekupolitsei ja SD), or Sipo, was a security police force created by the Germans in 1942 that integrated both Germans and Estonians within a unique s ...

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 Jan ...

and fought voluntarily in the Estonian War of Independence. 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 Germans, 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 ...

and the exposure of underground Estonian organisations reached the desk of Lavrenti Beria. 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 and participated in the Holocaust. On 5 February 1945, in

Berlin Berlin is Capital of Germany, the capital and largest city of Germany, both by area and List of cities in Germany by population, by population. Its more than 3.85 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European U ...

, 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 volunteers and conscripts from both occupied and unoccupied lands. The grew from th ...

commander Harald Riipalu.

Trial in absentia

In March 1961, the Soviet court accused during the War crimes trials in Soviet Estonia 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 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 Germa ...

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 Germ ...

. 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,

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