World War II
Shortly before the outbreak of World War II Reinefarth was conscripted as a reserve Feldwebel. For his actions during the Invasion of Poland he received the 2nd Class Iron Cross. He took part in the 1940 campaign against France, for which he was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes (Knight's Cross) as the first member of the Waffen-SS to be so decorated. After the French campaign he was quickly promoted and on April 20, 1942, he was promoted to SS-Brigadeführer, the equivalent of Generalmajor in the German Army.
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