hoelz served in the german army during the world war i but was wounded and worked on the railways. towards the end of the war he was working in a reinforced concrete construction company near mulhouse in alsace where he received news his wife in vogtland was ill, leading him to travel back to falkenstein with soldiers returning from the front, amongst whom he helped form the falkenstein workers' and soldiers' council on 9 november 1918. however, he was shortly forced out of the council by his co-chair sturl, a uspd member, but despite this he joined the uspd and got a job selling subscription to their new journal for the vogtland, vogtlandische volkszeitung. hoelz went on to found the local branch of the communist party of germany (kpd) in falkenstein in spring 1919 and became a leader of the unemployed in the town.