Gefreiter

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Gefreiter is the German, Swiss and Austrian equivalent for Private (OR-2) in the armed services. Gefreiter was the lowest rank to which an ordinary soldier could be promoted. As a military rank it has existed since at least the 16th century. From the 1920s on Gefreiter has expanded into several additional ranks, those being Obergefreiter, Hauptgefreiter, Stabsgefreiter and Oberstabsgefreiter.

A similar rank exists in Russia ("Ефрейтор"; yefreytor, efreitor), Ukraine (Єфрейтор, ; yefreytor, efreitor) and Belarus and existed in late Soviet Union.

[edit] Germany

In today's German Bundeswehr, almost every soldier or sailor successfully passing the 12 weeks basic training is promoted to Gefreiter. Following the NATO ranking system, Gefreiter ranks as Private (OR-2), Obergefreiter as PFC (OR-3 lower half), Hauptgefreiter as Lance-Corporal (OR-3 upper half), Stabsgefreiter and Oberstabsgefreiter as Corporal (OR-4). The German equivalent of Private (OR-1) is Schütze or another unit type-specific term (like Kanonier, "gunner") in the Heer (German Army), Matrose in the German Navy, Flieger in the Luftwaffe, or simply Soldat ("[ordinary] soldier").

During World War I and World War II, Gefreiter was considered more to be a lance corporal, with the rank of full corporal known as Unteroffizier (lowest grading Junior Non-Commissioned Officer), which ranked between an American sergeant and corporal and approximately equivalent to a British corporal in responsibility.

The German Navy, Kriegsmarine, has also periodically maintained a rank known as Matrosengefreiter, translated as "Seaman Corporal", and equivalent to an Able Seaman or Leading Seaman.

One of the best known holders of the rank of Gefreiter was Adolf Hitler, who held the rank in the Bavarian Infantry during World War I. (Note: The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, a book written by William L. Shirer, a U.S. journalist and correspondent who reported from Berlin during the World War II, states that Adolf Hitler was examined for military service on February 5, 1914, and found unfit to serve by cause and or reason of poor health. When the World War I started, he petitioned King Ludwig III of Bavaria for permission to enter military service in a Bavarian regiment and was accepted.)