SD

The SD, or Sicherheitsdienst, is the Nazi Party's security and intelligence service, a pervasive and feared apparatus within the German Reich. In the alternate world of the novel, where the Axis won World War II, the SD functions as a key instrument of state terror and political control, extending its reach even into the Japanese-dominated Pacific States of America. Its local chief in the PSA area is Bruno Kreuz vom Meere, a heavy-jawed, pock-skinned man who holds an honorary SS commission and whose jurisdiction overlaps with that of the German consul, Freiherr Hugo Reiss, a deliberate policy of the higher-ups in Berlin to create rivalry and ensure control. The SD is deeply involved in the internecine power struggles within the Reich, particularly following the death of Chancellor Martin Bormann, and its agents are tasked with eliminating political enemies and suppressing dissent, including the suppression of the banned novel The Grasshopper Lies Heavy.

Structure and Operations

The SD operates under the cover of the "Lufthansa Airport Terminal Precious-Shipment Guard Detail" in San Francisco, a euphemism that masks its true function. Its agents are described as having "ascetic faces" and looking like "divinity students," a chilling contrast to their violent purpose. They are equipped with silenced pistols and are prepared to carry out kidnappings and assassinations in broad daylight, as demonstrated by their raid on the Nippon Times Building. The SD's methods are brutal and direct: they plan to use a "Kommando squad" of five men to seize Rudolf Wegener, an Abwehr agent, right from his meeting with Japanese officials, using a small shaft to paralyze his upper ganglia. This operation is authorized directly by the new Reich Chancellor, Dr. Joseph Goebbels, who calls the German consul to demand full cooperation. The SD's reach extends beyond the Pacific Coast; they are also plotting to assassinate Hawthorne Abendsen, the author of The Grasshopper Lies Heavy, a book that depicts an Allied victory and is banned throughout the Reich. The SD agent Joe Cinnadella, posing as an Italian truck driver, is dispatched to kill Abendsen, using a beautiful woman as a lure to gain entry to his home.

Key Actions and Conflicts

The SD's most dramatic action in the novel is the raid on the Nippon Times Building, where two SD men, armed with silenced pistols, burst into Mr. Tagomi's office to capture Rudolf Wegener. The raid is thwarted when Mr. Tagomi, using a treasured Colt .44 revolver, shoots and kills both men. This violent confrontation exposes the SD's willingness to operate in Japanese territory, creating a major diplomatic incident. The local SD chief, Bruno Kreuz vom Meere, is portrayed as an "Altparteigenosse" (old Party hack) and an "imbecile" by Wegener, who notes that he merely carries out routine assignments and is not trusted with sensitive information. The SD's relationship with the German consul, Hugo Reiss, is strained and marked by mutual suspicion. Reiss resents the SD's ability to go over his head and contact the Chancery directly, and he privately considers Kreuz vom Meere a "low-class Bavarian thug." Despite this, Reiss is forced to cooperate when the Reich Chancellor himself orders him to support the SD's operation. The SD's actions are part of a larger power struggle within the Reich, where the police faction, led by SS General Reinhard Heydrich, opposes the expansionist Operation Dandelion, a plan for a nuclear attack on Japan. The SD's local chief is unaware of these high-level machinations, highlighting the compartmentalized and paranoid nature of the Nazi security apparatus.

Narrative Role and Significance

The SD serves as the primary antagonist force in the novel, representing the most malevolent and efficient arm of Nazi power. Its presence in the Pacific States of America underscores the reach of the Reich's terror, even in territory nominally under Japanese control. The SD's attempt to kidnap Wegener and assassinate Abendsen drives key plotlines, forcing characters like Mr. Tagomi and Juliana Frink into violent confrontations that test their moral limits. The organization embodies the novel's central theme of the inescapable nature of evil in a world dominated by the Axis. The SD's methods—its use of deception, its willingness to kill without compunction, and its bureaucratic ruthlessness—are a stark contrast to the more subtle, culturally-based domination of the Japanese. The SD is not merely a police force; it is a symbol of the psychotic, abstract cruelty that Rudolf Wegener identifies as the core madness of the Nazi regime, a force that sees the world in terms of race, land, and abstract honor, and that is willing to destroy all life in pursuit of its cosmic, demented plans.