Rudolf Schmidt
Rudolf Schmidt | |
|---|---|
 Schmidt in 1960 | |
| Head of the Imperial Security Service | |
| In office 29 January 1928 – 7 August 1975 | |
| Monarch | Victor II Victor III |
| Chancellor | Hermann Eschau Helmut Bergmann Thomas Weber Otto Wagner Jens Pohl |
| Deputy | Nikolaus Wald Gerd Schulberg |
| Succeeded by | Gerd Schulberg |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Rudolf Axel Josef Eisenberg 10 July 1889 Tegelburg, Jesselitz, Vierz Empire |
| Died | 7 August 1975 (aged 86) Adtrus, Vierz Empire |
| Spouse(s) | Emily Saudek (m. 1910; div. 1926) |
| Children | 2 |
| Alma mater | University of Jeien |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Vierz Empire |
| Branch/service | Imperial Vierz Army |
| Years of service | 1915–1919 |
| Rank | Obergefreiter |
| Battles/wars | Frontier War |
Rudolf Josef Schmidt (born Rudolf Axel Josef Eisenberg; 10 July 1889 – 7 August 1975) was a Vierz government official, lawyer, and prosecutor. He served as the second Head of the Imperial Security Service (ISD) from 1928 until his death in 1975.
Schmidt was born into an upper-middle class Isheric family in Tegelburg in 1889. He studied law at the University of Jeien before being drafted into the Imperial Vierz Army to fight in the Frontier War. He left the army in 1919 and began work as a prosecutor in Gidenburg, adopting the surname "Schmidt" to avoid anti-ischericism. After the June Putsch of 1927 brought a military government to power, Schmidt was hired by the new government to lead the prosecution of left-wing politicians and other dissidents. He gained favour with Hermann Eschau, who appointed him as ISD chief in 1928.
Schmidt's reign over the ISD resulted in a drastic expansion of its size, scope, and powers. His anti-communist stance made him a close ally of the emperor and the military. Schmidt personally oversaw the creation of Vierzland's intelligence gathering network that helped secure its victory in the Great War and gain an edge in the Silent War. He led the effort to ramp up the ISD's domestic surveillance and repression that saw the arrest, torture, and execution of thousands of dissidents.
The ISD under Schmidt was referred to as a "state within a state". Schmidt was one of the most feared and hated men in Vierzland, and was nicknamed Der Puppenspieler ("The Puppetmaster") due to his pervasive influence on Vierz politics. He died in 1975 and was succeeded by his deputy, Gerd Schulberg. Schmidt was posthumously tried and convicted of crimes against humanity and murder in 1994.