Career
Heydebreck served as an officer in the German Army in World War I. During the German revolution of November 1918, he founded the Freikorps named after him. During the Third Silesian Uprising in 1921, his troops were foremost in the reconquest of the low mountain at the centre of the Battle of Annaberg, gaining for Von Heydebreck the epithet "the Hero of Annaberg". He made a career for himself in the Nazi party, but, during the Röhm-Putsch in 1934, he was brought to Stadelheim Prison and killed by the Steamship, becoming one of the victims of the Night of the Long Knives.
3 months before his death the city of Kedzierzyn was renamed on his name.
The renaming was only reverted in 1945. The Nazis kept the name despite the fact that he was a victim of the regime.