Born in Nuremberg, Germany in 1940, he grew up in the aftermath of the defeat of the Third Reich. His family emigrated to Romania in 1943. His father, the poet and author Berchtold Breslaw, was executed for sedition by the communist Romanian regime in 1956. At the age of 25, Nicolae defected to West Germany where he joined the Munich Police in 1968. In 1980, he joined Interpol.