Out of the Night: The Memoir of Richard Julius Herman Krebs alias Jan Valtin

As the newest addition to AK Press's Nabat series, I suspected that this would be an interesting book. In fact, it is an absolutely amazing account of the world political scene in the 1920s and 1930s, in the form of a memoir of an organizer in the German Communist Party. At heart, though, the book is an act of revenge; an attempt to expose the Communist Party for its betrayal of the author and all of those who sacrificed themselves for the benefit of The Cause. It is also one of the most incredi [...]

1. This is one of the few stunning and amazing books that I would recommend to anyone. 2. This biography of German Communist between WWI and WWII will teach you more about humanity and evil and politics than anything else i have read. 3. I read this first at about 16 and I read it about every 10 years. 4. I think this should be required reading in every high school/college course on political science/International studies/ etc. 5. Not only is this a great history book. The writer wrote eloquentl [...]

This book, published in 1940, was a national best seller and generated a lot of sparks in the international communist world. In summary they hated it and did what they could to discredit Valtin calling him everything from a Nazi collaborator and turncoat (he had become a member of the Gestapo to escape a Nazi jail) to a fabulist who made everything up. One member concludes Valtin's work is an act of revenge. Many people--especially those coming of age after the Cold War--have probably never hea [...]

Sitting by the river in Machias, Maine, about as close to New Brunswick as you can get while still being in the U.S I was reading 'Out of the Night' and overcome with the sense that I needed to make it to Montreal post-haste and write a song about Jan Valtin to perform at the second Band-Off in Saint Henri. I had only read the first 200 or so pages of this almost 700 page tomb at that point, but the episode involving the failed Hamburg uprising left its mark on my forever. Screaming words writte [...]

now that you know this book exists, you have absolutely no excuse not to read it.

This might be the best written and most thrilling autobiography by a revolutionary (Jan Valtin, real name Krebs) ever written. I discovered it in the back of a closet when a teenager and read it several times since. It's a huge (700+ pages) book which was a best seller in 1941. It describes the experience of a German Communist revolutionary from 1918 onwards: his training in the Soviet Union; his imprisonment in America; his capture by the Nazis and placement in a concentration camp; his release [...]

Storia del rivoluzionario Richard Krebs, da marinaio protagonista degli ammutinamenti contro il Kaiser nella prima guerra mondiale ad agente sovietico contro la Gestapo e poi contro gli stessi stalinisti. Una miniera di informazioni sulla lotta tra comunisti, socialdemocratici e nazisti prima dell'incendio del Reichstag, sui metodi di guerriglia e controspionaggio, sugli errori, si spera, che hanno portato Hitler al potere. Superbamente scritto.

Earned it's rating. This is such a textured and detailed bit of history, largely free of telios, from a period and angle that is hardly visible in the shadows of the liberalism's narrative of the world wars and interwar period on the one hand and the Soviet Union's disavowal and historical erasure of its internationalist program on the other. It is a history that has "fallen between the cracks."

The memoirs of a sometime German Communist, an agent of the Communist International (the Comintern) until he became marked for being purged in Stalin's Great Terror of the 1930's.

A young sailor and participant in the German revolution of 1918-1919 and the lesser-known Hamburg uprising of October 1923 becomes an agent of the Comintern, rising to high-level positions in the Maritime Division. The sordidness of international communism is made painfully clear: already in the 1920s it meant nothing but the foreign policy of a totalitarian Russian state. Driven by belief in world revolution, Valtin crisscrosses the globe and takes part in endless adventures and conspiracies, h [...]

This is probably the most moving and fascinating book I have ever read. Before even reaching the age of 34, Jan Valtin seems to to have lived 9 lives. In his whirlwind accounts of stealthy international communist activism, the level of detail can sometimes feel tedious, but when it comes to describing horrific events witnessed and experienced, his understated tone is exactly right. There were times I reacted out loud with an unbelieving "Oh my God!" and times that I wept for him and his fellow p [...]

Having checked out a hefty 1941 edition from the library, I really felt connected to the fascinating period of history recounted in this book. Valtin/Krebs tells in great detail of his life in the 1920s and 30s traveling around the world for the Comintern and the reader really gets a sense of the dissolution of the revolutionary spirit as the party becomes more demanding and sends people into harm's way with little cause. Being a communist spy is kind of boring at times. The book is definitely n [...]

There are a lot of reasons not to read this book which was on the best seller list in 1941. The first reason it is that it tells a very unpleasant story with a backdrop of social upheaval on a scale largely unimaginable to today's declining number of readers. The second reason is to not upset a belief in the inherent goodness of man and the ultimate victory of Communist ideals or its close relative on the political spectrum- fascism. Regardless of your politics, the story of Valtin's life is a c [...]

A deep, long yet engaging and ultimately very sad tale of life in the Communist Party and in Germany and other countries between the two world wars. Jan Valtin dedicated his life to the Party, only for it to try to destroy him, and he details the dirty deeds and hypocrisy of the Comintern (misdeeds include robbing payroll trains, and allowing loyal members to be caught and killed by the enemy). The fact that he died on New Year's Day 1951 (at the height of the Red Scare) I can't help but find su [...]

What an incredible, crazy life story. Intense and hard to keep track of because so much happens, going from one event to the next. International intrigue as a member of the comintern after years of riots in the streets of Germany and eventually settling in the US. Also kinds of gives a different perspective of what was happening in Germany pre-Nazi days. But I'm not sure I have a real grasp on it because this book has so much going on. Either way, fascinating stuff.

One of the most interesting books of the 20th century. What is the difference between the ideals of communism and the reality of Stalinism? Should the two be equated? Was fascism a response to communism, or was it a power structure unto itself? These are the kinds of questions Mr. Krebs explores in this incredibly fascinating memoir.

Bon là faut être honnête, c'est beaucoup plus qu'une livre. C'est une épopée racontée par un gars de 30 ans qui a déjà vécu 7 vies. Livre extraordinaire. Vraiment. Que je raconte même pas l'histoire d'abord .

fantastic read. travelling through the political turmoil of post WW1 germany through the rise of Hitler, in the eyes of a german member of the comintern.

Believe the hype.

An amazing story of a real-life badass. More gripping than most fiction.

Excelente documento acerca de una época tumultuosa de poderosas ideologías . Su mayor mérito radica en la capacidad de juicio del autor para opinar sobre las circunstancias políticas que vivió .

Whether a true autobiography or not, this book is a gripping tale of life as both a communist and Gestapo spy and the tragic tale of what happens when politics comes before family.

Simplemente el mejor libro que leí en mi vida.