 World War I disrupted play in the country for several years and Pforzheim fell out of top-flight competition.They returned to, at first, the Kreisliga Südwest and then the Bezirksliga Württemberg-Baden in the early 20s before being relegated in 1926, and then earning their re-promotion in 1929.In 1933 German football was reorganized under the Third Reich into sixteen first division Gauligen.