B. Traven

Ret Marut, Otto Feige, Traven Torsvan, Hal Croves alias B. Traven - five names for one and the same person. The tumultuous life of the German writer B. Traven seems like the blueprint for one of his novel characters. He was an actor, director, anarchist, supporter of the Munich Soviet Republic, prisoner, sailor, and writer in Mexican exile. Works such as "The Death Ship" and "March to Caoba" reached millions in sales, and he was celebrated in Hollywood as a screenwriter. "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre" was adapted into a film in 1947 starring Humphrey Bogart - yet despite his fame, no one knows exactly who is behind the pseudonym B. Traven. "If a person cannot be recognized in their works, then either the person is worthless or their works are worthless," declared the enigmatic author, and he maintained this refusal.