Out of the NightPickle Partners Publishing, 2020 M01 30 - 724 pages A bestseller in 1941, selected by the Book of the Month Club for a special edition and described by Book of the Month Club News as: “...full of sensational revelations and interspersed with episodes of daring, of desperate conflict, of torture, and of ruthless conspiracy...It is, first of all, an autobiography the like of which has seldom been.” The son of a seafaring father, Richard Julius Herman Krebs, a.k.a. Jan Valtin, came of age as a bicycle messenger during a maritime rebellion. His life as an intimate insider account of the dramatic events of 1920’s and 1930s, where he rose both within the ranks of the Communist Party and on the Gestapo hit list. Known for his honesty and incredible memory, Krebs dedicated his life to the Communist Party, rising to a position as head of maritime, organizing worldwide for the Comintern, only to flee the Party and Europe to evade his own comrade’s attempts to kill him. As a professional revolutionary, agitator, spy and would-be assassin, Krebs traveled the globe from Germany to China, India to Sierra Leon, Moscow to the United States where a botched assassination attempt landed him a stint in San Quentin. From his spellbinding account of artful deception to gain release from a Nazi prison and his work as a double-agent within the Gestapo, to his vivid depiction of a Communist Party fraught with intrigue and subterfuge, Krebs gives an unflinching portrayal of the internal machinations of both parties. |
From inside the book
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... DEATH IS EASY” 322 Chapter Thirty-two — CAPTURED 322 Chapter Thirty-three — THE GESTAPO QUESTIONS ME 322 Chapter Thirty-four — HELL 322 Chapter Thirty-five — I SIGN A CONFESSION 322 Chapter Thirty-six — OF COMRADES AND THE HEADSMAN 322 ...
... DEATH IS EASY” 322 Chapter Thirty-two — CAPTURED 322 Chapter Thirty-three — THE GESTAPO QUESTIONS ME 322 Chapter Thirty-four — HELL 322 Chapter Thirty-five — I SIGN A CONFESSION 322 Chapter Thirty-six — OF COMRADES AND THE HEADSMAN 322 ...
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... death-ride of the Fleet. Rumor had it that the Fleet was under orders to go down in battle to save the honor of the generation that built it. “Their honor is not our honor,” my father wrote. Two days later the Fleet was under way. The ...
... death-ride of the Fleet. Rumor had it that the Fleet was under orders to go down in battle to save the honor of the generation that built it. “Their honor is not our honor,” my father wrote. Two days later the Fleet was under way. The ...
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... death. A deserter from a mine sweeping flotilla carried further news. The battleship Helgoland had followed the example of the Thüringen. The stokers had doused the fires and killed the steam. The Fleet did not sail. The Fleet returned ...
... death. A deserter from a mine sweeping flotilla carried further news. The battleship Helgoland had followed the example of the Thüringen. The stokers had doused the fires and killed the steam. The Fleet did not sail. The Fleet returned ...
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... death. You'll report to Comrade Walter.” Albert Walter was a thick-set, jovial, highly energetic Bolshevik of international caliber, and the undisputed chieftain of communist activities along the German seaboard. Bronzed, barrel-chested ...
... death. You'll report to Comrade Walter.” Albert Walter was a thick-set, jovial, highly energetic Bolshevik of international caliber, and the undisputed chieftain of communist activities along the German seaboard. Bronzed, barrel-chested ...
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... death by his comrades, he turned informer for the Berlin police. “Why don't you go to Russia?” I demanded. The three knew no answer. “Hugo said we must go to America,” one of them blurted out. “Why don't they go to Russia?” I asked Hugo ...
... death by his comrades, he turned informer for the Berlin police. “Why don't you go to Russia?” I demanded. The three knew no answer. “Hugo said we must go to America,” one of them blurted out. “Why don't they go to Russia?” I asked Hugo ...
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Out of the Night: The Memoir of Richard Julius Herman Krebs Alias Jan Valtin Jan Valtin Limited preview - 2004 |
Common terms and phrases
aboard agents Albert Walter Antwerp Apparat arms arrested arrived ashore asked Bandura Berlin British Brownshirts Captain cell chief Cilly Comintern Communist Party Comrade Copenhagen courier crew death Dimitrov door Elite Guards Ernst Wollweber eyes face Firelei front Fuhlsbüttel gave Gestapo girl guns Hall Halvorsen Hamburg hands harbor head headquarters Heinz Neumann Heitman Hertha Jens Hitler Hugo Marx hundred Inspector Kraus International Club Jensen John Scheer Karl Liebknecht knew later leaders Leningrad looked marine mass Michel Avatin morning Moscow murder Murmansk mutineers Narvik Nazi never night organization passport Pioner police policemen political ports prison Profintern propaganda Radam Reichswehr Rotterdam Russian sailors Samsing seamen secret sent shouted smuggled socialist Soviet Union station steamer stood storm troopers street strike told took towline train voice waiting walls wanted waterfront Western Secretariat window woman workers yard young