 In 1939 Braun arrived in the Soviet Union.At the time, that was a very dangerous place for foreign Communists, many of whomincluding German Communistswere imprisoned, tortured or killed by Joseph Stalin's secret police (NKVD), despite being completely loyal to the revolutionary cause and having often undergone persecution for its sake in their own countries.Braun managed to avoid such a fate, though he did face some political difficulties immediately upon his arrival.