In 1914 he joined the German Army and fought in World War I, where he was wounded and contracted typhoid fever.

He earned his living as a traveling book salesmen for the Thüringen Ministry of Culture, specializing in political literature: social critical lyrics, as well as novels depicting the hardships of the working class.

His experiences in the USA became his first novel written in 1923, which wasn't published until 1927 “Passagiere der III.

He joined the Bund proletarisch-revolutionäre Schriftsteller (the Association of Proletarian-Revolutionary Authors) and was one of the publishers of the journal regularly sent to their members, Linkskurve.

His greatest success "The Outsiders of Uskoken Castle" was soon followed by similar books about working class children: “Der Trommler von Faido” (The Drummer of Faido), “Matthias und seine Freunde” (Matthias and his Friends) and the four volume series “Giuseppe und Maria”.