 He was a close friend of Erich Kästner and Erich Ohser (pen name, "e. o. plauen") and together, they became known as "the three Erichs from Saxony".An erotic poem by Kästner, with a frivolous illustration by Ohser, became a scandal, forcing all three to leave Saxony, whereupon Knauf moved to Berlin.Knauf was a member of the Independent Social Democratic Party, an editor of the newspaper, "Plauener Volkszeitung".