Ain Mere
| Ain Mere | |
|---|---|
| Born |
February 22, 1903 Vändra, Governorate of Livonia, Russian Empire |
| Died | April 5, 1969 (aged 66) Leicester, England |
| Allegiance |
 Estonia Soviet Union Nazi Germany
|
| Years of service | 1918–1940 Estonian Army 1940-1941 NKVD 1941–1943 Estonian Omakaitse 1943–1945 Waffen SS |
| Rank | SS-Obersturmbannführer |
| Unit | Estonian Air Force, 20th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (1st Estonian) |
| Battles/wars | |
| Awards |
Order of the Cross of the Eagle Iron Cross 2nd and 1st Class |
Estonian War of Independence
World War II Eastern Front
Ain Mere (from birth to Estification Ervin Martson; February 22, 1903 – April 5, 1969) was an Estonian military officer. During World War II, he was an Obersturmbannführer (Lieutenant Colonel) in the Waffen SS and also the head of the Sicherheitspolizei in Estonia (Security Police) following its creation in 1942.
He was born in Vändra 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 in 1940–1941. Mere's reports on the resettlement of Baltic Germans 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) under the Estonian Self-Administration and participated in the Holocaust.
On February 5, 1945 in Berlin, he founded the Eesti Vabadusliit (anti-communist group) together with SS-Obersturmbannführer Harald Riipalu.
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