Academy Graduation Badges

[Taz]

There were Officer universities (OHS) in the GDR for the national People's Army, the border troops and the Garrisoned units of the MdI.
At these officer school candidates and/or military high-level personnel of stature were trained.
This training was also partly open for the military of the Warsaw Pact states as well as Officers from friendly States (e.g. Libya ,South Yemen ,Algeria ,Angola ,Syria ,Mosambique and North Korea )

Some these universities were:

OHS "Artur Becker", Dresden (Garrisoned units of the MdI ), now state criminal police agency Saxonia
OHS der LaSK "Ernst Thälmann" in Löbau and Zittau (Ground Forces)
OHS "Rosa Luxemburg", Suhl (Border troops)
OHS "Karl Liebknecht", Stralsund (Navy)
OHS "Franz Mehring", Kamenz and until 1986 also Bautzen (Air forces/Air defense
OHS "Otto Lilienthal", in Bautzen also Brandenburg (Pilots; 1986 - 1990)
OHS "Otto Winzer", Prora (Learn and training basis for foreign military cadres; 1981 - 1990)

For the training of officers of the NVA, MfS and VP at army and division level:

Military academy of the NVA "Friedrich Engels" in Dresden

Up to 1963 there was a multiplicity of different officer schools for the different branches of service of the NVA and police.
On 17th June 1963 the Minister for national defense instructed the formation of central schools. On 30th November 1963 the ordered reorganisation of the officer schools of the ground forces, air forces/air defense and the Navy became official, as well as the seperate schools for border troops of the GDR ended. The training at the central officer schools began on 2nd December 1963.
Now the training as an officer with diploma, "technician/ platoon leader" took uniformly three years. Only pilots with a 4 year training to "pilot engineer" as well as officers of the People's Navy formed the exception.
For all training profiles only those officer applicants became certified who possessed "Abitur" or "middle reife" with cognate occupation training. The first officer rank was, as before Unterleutnant.
The officer schools received the status of a university in the beginning of 1971. The graduates received the rank with conclusion of the training second lieutenant and the authorization to use the title "hochschulingenieur".
The right to recive a diploma transfered to the officer universities at the beginning of of 1982.
Accordingly the four year training begins and in August 1987 the first officers with diploma conclusion leave the officer universities on 1st September 1983.

Eddie