The First World War was followed by economic collapse and a succession of revolutionary uprisings in the ports and cities. With thousands of other disillusioned and unemployed former soldiers, Pinthus participated in the Soldiers' Soviet movement. During 1919/20 he compiled and published , an anthology of from 23 poets (of whom six had been killed during the war). The book was originally produced with a small print run by a small publishing firm in 1919, but following a favourable reception was re-published with a larger print-run in 1920 by Rowohlt. The compilation caught the mood of the times and became a standard literary work, acknowledged by commentators as a chronicle of the development of expressionist literature.