He chose his new surname because storks nested on the chimney of his house in Esseg (today Osijek).

Between 1914 and 1917, he produced nearly 700 articles as war correspondent for the paper[1] as well as the German-language newspaper published in Budapest, Pester Lloyd.

He appeared in cabarets, traveled extensively, and had contact with dozens of authors, actors, filmmakers, and other artists of his milieu.

His work was part of the literature event in the art competition at the 1936 Summer Olympics.

Here he found inspiration for his humorous text that discusses chess, "Das Pensionistengambit" (The Pensioners' Gambit), originally the chapter "Schach" in his 1932 collection Roda Roda und die vierzig Schurken.