Hjalmar-Johannes Mäe ( in

Tuhala Tuhala is a village in Kose Parish, Harju County in northern Estonia. As of the 2011 Estonian census, 2011 census, the settlement's population was 105. It is believed that settlement in Tuhala dates back around 3,000 years. The Tuhala Karst Are ...

, Kreis Harrien,

Governorate of Estonia The Governorate of Estonia, also known as the Esthonia (Estland) Governorate, was a province (''guberniya'') and one of the Baltic governorates of the Russian Empire. It was located in the northern Estonia with some islands in the West Estoni ...

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

– 10 April 1978 in

Graz Graz () is the capital of the Austrian Federal states of Austria, federal state of Styria and the List of cities and towns in Austria, second-largest city in Austria, after Vienna. On 1 January 2025, Graz had a population of 306,068 (343,461 inc ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

) was an

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

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

. Mäe was twice a candidate to the

Riigikogu The Riigikogu (, from Estonian ''riigi-'', "of the state", and ''kogu'', "assembly") is the unicameral parliament of Estonia. In addition to approving legislation, the Parliament appoints high officials, including the prime minister and chi ...

, in the

1929 Estonian parliamentary election Parliamentary elections were held in Estonia between 11 and 13 May 1929. Results See also *IV Riigikogu References

*IV Riigikogu valimised : 11.-13. maini 1929 / oostanud A. Tooms; Riigi Statistika Keskbüroo = Élections au parleme ...

as a

Landlords' Party The Landlords' Party (), also known as the House Owners' Party, was a political party in Estonia. History The party was formed prior to the 1923 parliamentary elections,Vincent E. McHale (1983) ''Political parties of Europe'', Greenwood Press, ...

candidate and in the

1932 Estonian parliamentary election Parliamentary elections were held in Estonia between 21 and 23 May 1932. Background Before the elections major shifts occurred in the political landscape. The Farmers' Assemblies (mostly backed by the "old farmers" and those somewhat more conse ...

as a National Centre Party candidate. Later he joined the Vaps Movement. After the

1934 Estonian coup d'état The Estonian coup d'état of 1934 was a bloodless military coup organized on March 12, 1934 by State Elder candidates Johan Laidoner, Konstantin Päts, and August Rei, who took part in the State Elder elections scheduled for April of the sam ...

, Mäe was imprisoned. He was released in June, and sentenced to a year of probation by a military court in 1935. In December 1935, he was arrested on charges of plotting against the state. In 1936, the Supreme Military Court sentenced him to 20 years in prison with hard labour. Mäe was released under an amnesty in 1938. Mäe was the head of the Directorate of the Estonian Self-Administration, which was subordinate to

Reichskommissariat Ostland The (RKO; ) was an Administrative division, administrative entity of the Reich Ministry for the Occupied Eastern Territories of Nazi Germany from 1941 to 1945. It served as the German Civil authority, civilian occupation regime in Lithuania, La ...

, during the occupation of Estonia by

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

, and took part in the first investigation of the Nemmersdorf massacre. After the war, he was interned by U.S. military occupation authorities in Germany until 1947, after which he moved to

. There, Mäe became a citizen, and worked as an advisor for

West German West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republic after its capital c ...

Chancellor

Konrad Adenauer Konrad Hermann Joseph Adenauer (5 January 1876 – 19 April 1967) was a German statesman and politician who served as the first Chancellor of Germany, chancellor of West Germany from 1949 to 1963. From 1946 to 1966, he was the first leader of th ...

and Austrian Chancellor

Josef Klaus Josef Klaus (15 August 1910 – 25 July 2001) was an Austrian politician of the conservative People's Party (ÖVP). He served as State Governor (''Landeshauptmann'') of Salzburg from 1949 to 1961, as Minister of Finance from 1961 to 1963 and a ...

. In 1952, State Secretary

Hans Ritter von Lex Hans Ritter von Lex (1893-1970) was a German political figure and the President of the German Red Cross () from 1961 to 1967. He was born Hans Lex on October 27, 1893, in Rosenheim, Upper Bavaria, Germany. He died February 26, 1970, in Munich, Germ ...

, thanked him for his suggestions on how to ban the

German Communist Party The German Communist Party (, ) is a communist party in Germany. The DKP supports far-left positions and was an observer member of the European Left before leaving in February 2016. History The DKP considered itself a reconstitution of the C ...

. Mäe continued to write and advocate against communism until his death in 1978. In 1999, the

Estonian International Commission for Investigation of Crimes Against Humanity Estonian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic S ...

concluded that by the virtue of his senior position, Mäe shared responsibility with the German authorities for all criminal actions carried out in Estonia.

References

1901 births 1978 deaths Politicians from Kose Parish People from Kreis Harrien Landlords' Party politicians National Centre Party (Estonia) politicians Members of the Vaps Movement Holocaust perpetrators in Estonia People of Generalbezirk Estland Estonian Self-Administration Estonian emigrants to Austria Estonian politicians convicted of crimes Estonian prisoners and detainees People convicted of treason against Estonia Prisoners and detainees of the United States military {{Nazi-stub