 Writing under the pen name, "Berne Bums", he took a position of peace through revolution.On returning to civilian life, he was elected to a council of workers and soldiers in November 1918 and he began writing as the "worker correspondent" for the "Hamburg Peoples' Press", a volunteer position.He also switched his party affiliation to the Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany (USPD) because of the SPD's stance on war bonds to help pay for World War I.