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
Results 11-15 of 81
Page
... later. The boy clattered downstairs, still munching. Then I took the local train to Harburg, a journey of twenty minutes. The night was dark, windy, but not cold. I felt so hot that I loosened the woolen scarf I wore around my neck and ...
... later. The boy clattered downstairs, still munching. Then I took the local train to Harburg, a journey of twenty minutes. The night was dark, windy, but not cold. I felt so hot that I loosened the woolen scarf I wore around my neck and ...
Page
... Later that day a detective picked me up and took me to a little jail which gave me the impression of being a detention place for assorted alien beachcombers. I had clambered into the fishtank of a discharged trawler to pick up leftovers ...
... Later that day a detective picked me up and took me to a little jail which gave me the impression of being a detention place for assorted alien beachcombers. I had clambered into the fishtank of a discharged trawler to pick up leftovers ...
Page
... later, under a gloomy North Sea sky, the Montpelier maneuvered through the locks and moored in Antwerp's Siberia Dock. I went looking for Mariette. She was gone from her old place, and I concluded that she had moved to another street ...
... later, under a gloomy North Sea sky, the Montpelier maneuvered through the locks and moored in Antwerp's Siberia Dock. I went looking for Mariette. She was gone from her old place, and I concluded that she had moved to another street ...
Page
... Later in 1931, he became the director of the Comintern passport forging bureau, with offices on the Ogorodnikova in Leningrad. “Ah, a real sailor,” Atchkanov muttered when I entered. Old Mrs. Walter poured Caucasian wine into glasses ...
... Later in 1931, he became the director of the Comintern passport forging bureau, with offices on the Ogorodnikova in Leningrad. “Ah, a real sailor,” Atchkanov muttered when I entered. Old Mrs. Walter poured Caucasian wine into glasses ...
Page
... Michel and Malka had their farewell embrace while I stood outside on guard. Then Malka slipped out, waving her hand to say good-by, and hastened ashore. The blackness between the cranes and sheds swallowed her. A little later Avatin came.
... Michel and Malka had their farewell embrace while I stood outside on guard. Then Malka slipped out, waving her hand to say good-by, and hastened ashore. The blackness between the cranes and sheds swallowed her. A little later Avatin came.
Other editions - View all
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