How Does/Did One Become a German Army Officer?

Factual Questions
1

I am an American. I sort of suppose an Army officer graduates from West Point, goes through ROTC at university, or is promoted from the ranks via Officer Candidates’ School.

(I am an ROTC graduate, and I taught at OCS.)
How does and did people become officers in the German Army? They seem to have no USMA sort of school at all. Further, it seems they never had one.
Did they all get appointed due to family connections (in the Old Days) or go through some sort of military training at a civilian university?

2

Details are a bit fuzzy.

Years ago I read the book “Soldat: Reflections of a German Soldier” by Siegfried Knappe. It’s a fascinating book. He was an officer that happened to have served on all fronts but survived mostly by being wounded and sent home at the right times. He ended the war as part of the defense of Berlin and he had to go to the Bunker and brief Hitler. The book is one of the sources the movie Downfall is based on.

So anyway… what I do remember is he was conscripted in the mid 1930s to serve a short mandatory stint in the Army. He found he liked military life and decided to stay in. This is where it is fuzzy. He did go to some sort of officer candidate school and became an artillery officer. I don’t remember the exact details but there was a system in place for regular non-aristocrats to become officers. That was pre-war.

3

In Prussia and the brief German Empire, numerous cadet schools existed for the sons of the upper classes. They entered at a young age (13 or younger) and upon graduation applied to the Army or Navy for an officer’s commission.

4

There is an Army Officers Academy in Dresden.

5

There is also The Bundeswehr Command and Staff College.

also:

6

In the Netherlands, you become an officer by applying to, being accepted by and graduating from the military academy (KMA). It requires high level upper-secondary education as pre-requisite, and is pretty selective.
If I recall Germany is similar - but pre-requisites are lower (more possible paths to the school), selection is more discerning (lower percentage is accepted), and the time commitment is significantly longer than in Holland.

7

One can also get a direct commission. Such as a physician or priest.

8

I don’t know the exact details, but there are two Bundeswehr universities in Germany, the Helmut Schmidt Universität der Bundeswehr in Hamburg and the Universität der Bundeswehr in Munich. I don’t know exactly, but I think that every officer cadet has to successfully finish a degree on either of them. Note that also civilians are allowed to study there, though I suspect that most of the civilian graduates end in civilian jobs in the Bundeswehr.

9

Thank you. In truth I already stopped by there looking for an answer. Remarkably, the college’s website is down.

10

It is not a commissioning source. It is part of ongoing professional military education for already commissioned officers. All of the courses listed on their wiki page are for field grade officers.

11

One is tempted to say “by followink orders.”

Also reminds me of Pink Panther…
Herbert Lom: “How does an idiot become a policeman, answer me that!”
Peter Sellers: [bad French accent] “It is simple. He applies, like everyone else.”