Herbert Lorentz Brede
Estonia- Early Military Career
- Inspector General of Artillery
- Command Positions
- Soviet Era and Arrest
- Sentencing and Execution
- Final Gesture
Early Military Career
Nikolai Brede embarked on his military journey in 1918, joining the Estonian army. He initially commanded a battalion of the 1st Artillery Regiment before taking over the 2nd Artillery Regiment in 1919.
Inspector General of Artillery
From 1919 to 1927, Brede served as the General-Inspector of Artillery. His responsibilities included overseeing the development and training of artillery units within the Estonian army.
Command Positions
In the 1930s, Brede held several command positions within the Estonian military. From 1930 to 1933, he was responsible for military training, and from 1933 to 1934, he commanded the 1st Division. Subsequently, from 1934 to 1940, he served as the commander of the 3rd Division.
Soviet Era and Arrest
Following Estonia's annexation by the Soviet Union, Brede was appointed as the head of artillery for the 22nd Territorial Corps of the Red Army. However, his tenure was short-lived. On June 28, 1941, he was arrested in Moscow and accused of suppressing an uprising in Estonia in 1924.
Sentencing and Execution
Brede was subsequently found guilty and sentenced to imprisonment in the Norilsk Gulag, where he arrived on August 10, 1941. While in the camp, he faced additional charges and was sentenced to death by the Special Committee of the NKVD (OSSO NKVD) on July 29, 1942. On September 23, 1942, Brede was executed by firing squad in Norilsk alongside several other Estonian officers.
Final Gesture
In his final days, Brede's cellmate, Harry Kalve, whose death sentence had been commuted to 10 years in a labor camp, received a handkerchief from Brede with the request that it be given to his wife. Kalve subsequently handed the handkerchief to Georg Leets, who eventually delivered it to Brede's widow following his release from the Gulag.
