Conrad Patzig was a German naval officer whose career spanned three navies and two world wars—from Imperial cadet through Japanese captivity to command of the Weimar and Nazi-era Kriegsmarine—and whose tenure as head of the Abwehr ended not in disgrace but in the quiet triumph of rivals he had made by openly opposing the SS. Patzig's previous opposition to the most notorious Nazi organization, paired with an unmatched command of the naval personnel system, made him indispensable later after 1945, when U.S. naval intelligence and, later, the fledgling Bundeswehr each turned to Patzig to vet West German officers.