Working as a journalist, in 1975 he was called to testify at DOI-Codi,
a department of Army created to fight against what dictatorship called
subversion. The next day, he was found hanged in jail, although he had
no reason to be arrested. Militaries said he committed suicide,
although by the position he was found it would be impossible for him to be hanged in that way. In 1978,
Justice declared that the confederacy was responsible for his death. In 1997,
President
Fernando Henrique Cardoso approves reparation for his family. His
assassination contributed to accelerate the process of democracy in
Brazil and in 1985, the country had his first non-military president in 20
years. In 1989, free and direct elections. Herzog's story is told in the documentary
Vlado - 30 Anos Depois (2005).