Reinhardt was born in
Werdau, in the
Kingdom of Saxony, a state of the
German Empire. He was born into a family of textile workers and learned
locksmithing, then travelled as a
wandering journeyman through several European countries, including France, Switzerland and Austria. In 1930, he joined the
Young Communist League of Germany. After the Nazis
seized power in 1933, Reinhardt became active in the German Resistance. He was arrested and in 1936, sentenced to a prison term in the
Zuchthaus in
Waldheim, Saxony. He worked as a
machinist in Werdau between 1939 and 1942, when he was forced to fight in the
999th Light Afrika Division, a
penal battalion. In 1943, he deserted and went to fight with the
Greek partisans as part of the
Anti-Fascist Committee for a Free Germany in Greece, which he co-founded with
Falk Harnack. Later, he became its representative for the XIII
Greek People's Liberation Army (ELAS) Division. He became a captain in ELAS before going to
Yugoslavia, where he became an officer in the Second Austrian Freedom Battalion in the Third Yugoslavian Army. He returned to Germany in summer 1945 and in 1946, became a member of the
Socialist Unity Party. He went to work in the Land and Forest Ministry, part of the Ministry of the Interior. In 1961, he became the Secretary of the Central Committee for
Jugendweihe; later, he became the Secretary of the central leadership of the
Committees of the Anti-Fascist Resistance Fighters. == References ==