Reinhard Wittke was born March 15, 1921 in Drossen,Germany (now Osna Lubice in Poland) and immigrated with his family to Sibley, Michigan (annexed to Trenton) in 1926. He attended the University of Michigan and received both his A.B. (1943) and M.A. (1945) in History and his PhD in Medieval History in 1956. From 1943-1946 Wittke taught History and Geography at the junior and high school levels in Trenton, Michigan and Rogers City, Michigan respectively. He served as a teaching assistant between 1946-49 at the University of Michigan.

Wittke married Berthilda (Bert) Emelia Metzger on January 30, 1947. Metzger also immigrated from Germany with her family in 1926 and lived in Ann Arbor. They met while Wittke was working at her family's restaurant, the German Inn in Ann Arbor, during his freshman year at the University of Michigan. They had one daughter, Sigrid.

From 1949-1951, Wittke took a position on the faculty at Mankato State in Minnesota teaching the freshman courses in History. Wittke and his family returned to Michigan in 1952 to assist in Medieval History at the University of Michigan, taking a one year leave from 1953-54 to study on scholarship with the Fulbright Program in Munich, Germany.

Wittke was hired by President Eugene Elliott to begin teaching at Eastern Michigan University (EMU) in the fall of 1956 in the Department of History. During his tenure at EMU, Wittke taught the two semester sequence of History of Western Civilization, the World in the 20th Century, in addition to his areas of specialty, Medieval and German History which he taught at the graduate and undergraduate levels. Wittke was the first faculty member on campus to offer course via closed-circuit television during a trial period between 1961-63. At the end of the trial, Wittke concluded that if he would be required to teach large numbers of students, he would prefer to deal with them face-to-face, which helped establish the 'mass section' course offering. Beginning in the fall of 1963, for more than 26 semesters, Wittke was responsible for teaching sections ranging from 100 to 450 students. Wittke was one of five finalists chosen by Student Council in 1964 for the first Outstanding Instructor Award, elected to Phi Kappa Phi for the 1979-80 class, and consistently received high marks in his evaluations. He was awarded the Senior Distinguished Faculty Teaching Award in 1981, recognized by the EMU Board of Regents in 1984, the Michigan Board of Governors in 1988 and again by the EMU Board of Regents in 1989.

While known for his teaching on campus, Wittke is also best known for his European Travel Study Program (which became International Studies). In 1960, under the title of "The Clinical Approach to History," Wittke travelled to Europe with an averaged size group of 30 mixing travel and lectures throughout Europe. EMU President Brickley wrote, after his visit with the group to Munich, Germany in 1977: "I have told many people here at the University that to listen to a lecture by Dr. Wittke on the unification (or disunification) [sic] of Europe while standing in downtown Munich is an unforgettable experience." Wittke led more than 40 tours, and while most were in Europe, there were also tours to Australia, China and New Zealand.

Active on campus in other capacities, Wittke served on the Faculty Council (now Faculty Senate) and the Curriculum Committee of the Council; board member of Inter-Collegiate Athletics (1962-64); Departmental Executive Committee and History Section Chairman; and the College Personnel and Finance Committee. He also gave lectures on his travels to student groups at area high schools and dormitories on campus as well as area organizations like Rotarty, Kiwanis, Lions, and the "20" Club.

Reinhard Wittke retired 1990 December 31 and was granted emeritus status by the Board of Regents. Wittke continued to travel with students and faculty from Eastern Michigan University and celebrated 47 years of touring in 2007. In 2014, the Reinhard and Bert Wittke Travel Scholarship was established support participation in international travel and study abroad. Preference will be given to graduate students in history section programs, followed by undergraduate students in those programs. Wittke continues to live in Ann Arbor.