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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... action. This system, known as the “Hamburg method,” was later adopted by communist waterfront organizations on all continents. I pitched into Party work with a high fervor. Nothing mattered outside the communist offensive. From early ...
... action. This system, known as the “Hamburg method,” was later adopted by communist waterfront organizations on all continents. I pitched into Party work with a high fervor. Nothing mattered outside the communist offensive. From early ...
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... Russian. We were prepared to go ahead with a blind religious élan. Came the day when all the action committees of the waterfront met in a secret session. Ernst Thaelmann, who was then the chief of the Hamburg organization, spoke: “Let.
... Russian. We were prepared to go ahead with a blind religious élan. Came the day when all the action committees of the waterfront met in a secret session. Ernst Thaelmann, who was then the chief of the Hamburg organization, spoke: “Let.
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... actions of a determined minority will rouse the fighting spirit of the masses. Stop ships by force when their crew ... action, the workers of other industries will follow—the dockers, the shipyard hands, the railwaymen. Above all, we ...
... actions of a determined minority will rouse the fighting spirit of the masses. Stop ships by force when their crew ... action, the workers of other industries will follow—the dockers, the shipyard hands, the railwaymen. Above all, we ...
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... action in the harbor of Hamburg had been brought to its conclusion, I was summoned to a secret meeting. The majority of the lesser-known waterfront agitators were present. After we had been pledged to silence, one of Thaelmann's aides ...
... action in the harbor of Hamburg had been brought to its conclusion, I was summoned to a secret meeting. The majority of the lesser-known waterfront agitators were present. After we had been pledged to silence, one of Thaelmann's aides ...
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... to the Party, however, came before loyalty to the proletariat. While the action committees still issued manifestos exhorting the seamen to continue to strike, ships stealthily manned by communists steamed seaward at dawn.
... to the Party, however, came before loyalty to the proletariat. While the action committees still issued manifestos exhorting the seamen to continue to strike, ships stealthily manned by communists steamed seaward at dawn.
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