Hoelz was born the son of a day labourer and emigrated to Britain in 1905 to become a mechanic. Hoelz served in the German Army during the
World War I but was wounded and worked on the railways. 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. Loebinger), 1928 During the
Kapp Putsch Hoelz helped form a Red Army in Vogtland. However the activities of his mobile detachment consisting of sometimes as many as 200 armed men caused dismay to the KPD leaders, and soon
Heinrich Brandler of the Chemnitz KPD ensure he was expelled from the party. As the
Communist Workers' Party of Germany (KAPD) was at that time bringing together former KPD activists who were disillusioned with the moderate politics of the KPD leadership, he soon joined them, finding himself more at home amongst their ranks. In the aftermath of the crushing of the
Ruhr Red Army, the Vogtland was surrounded by 50,000 government troops and Hoelz led his army to the border with
Czechoslovakia where they were surrounded by the Reichswehr. The Red Army split up into detachments to avoid the
Reichswehr and Hoelz was eventually arrested in Czechoslovakia and then deported to Austria. After returning to Vogtland in late 1920, Hoelz organised a band of around 50 men equipped with arms and bicycles to try and free those detained after the Kapp Putsch. The first bombing he organised was of the Falkenstein Rathaus on 6 March 1921 and others targeted courthouses throughout Germany. Later in his 1929 autobiography
From the White Cross to the Red Flag he regretted taking part in these attacks, "It was a serious political error to approve, and sometimes even take part, in raids on bank buildings, post offices, etc. by expropriation squads. These funds flowed into the hands of the then leaders of the
KAPD, thus fulfilling a political purpose by financing the printing of newspapers and leaflets. Only a small part was used over the years to help comrades who were living illegally in various parts of Germany. Unfortunately, the proletarian relief organization
Rote Hilfe Deutschland (Red Aid Germany) did not exist at that time." ==March Action==