[1][2][3][4] Reinhard was born Hermann Gustav Hellmuth Patzschke on 24 July 1911 in Weißenfels in the Prussian Province of Saxony in the German Empire.

[4] On 8 August 1940, he became leader of the Zentralstelle für jüdische Auswanderung in Amsterdam until 3 November 1941, when he became deputy commander for the Gestapo in Kiev.

[2] By 1943, he had been given the rank of SS-Sturmbannführer and made head of SiPo's Abteilung IV (the Gestapo), stationed at Victoria Terrasse in Oslo.

[2][3] He was even feared by his own men, who after the war claimed that he had threatened to send them to northern Norway or to concentration camps if they disobeyed orders.

[2] During his time in Norway, Reinhard was also involved in the deportation of Jews and a series of murders carried out as part of Operation Blumenpflücken.

[1][2][3] Near the end of the war, Reinhard started inviting young male prisoners to dinner in his home, where he would hold conversations on philosophy, literature, and politics.

It is unknown what Reinhard's purpose was in hosting these meals; he would drink heavily towards the end and sometimes mentioned death sentences for which he had a bad conscience.