# How Does/Did One Become a German Army Officer? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 28, 2020, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-did-one-become-a-german-army-officer/848638 "2020-02-28T07:27:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2020, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-did-one-become-a-german-army-officer/848638/1 "2020-02-28T07:27:50Z")
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? ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2020, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-did-one-become-a-german-army-officer/848638/2 "2020-02-28T07:55:34Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2020, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-did-one-become-a-german-army-officer/848638/3 "2020-02-28T08:03:46Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2020, 8:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-did-one-become-a-german-army-officer/848638/4 "2020-02-28T08:38:58Z")
There is an Army Officers Academy in Dresden. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2020, 10:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-did-one-become-a-german-army-officer/848638/5 "2020-02-28T10:45:49Z")
There is also The Bundeswehr Command and Staff College. > [@](#): > > is the General Staff College (Senior Military Academy) of the German armed forces, the Bundeswehr, established in 1957 as the successor of the Prussian Military Academy, founded in 1810. Since 1958 it is located in Hamburg. Its motto is “Mens agitat molem”, “Mind moves Matter”. Being the leading educational institution of the German armed forces, the academy is internationally renowned for its excellence. The academy educates the future elite of not only the German armed forces but also of other member states of the European Union and the NATO > **[Bundeswehr Command and Staff College](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bundeswehr_Command_and_Staff_College)** > > The Bundeswehr Command and Staff College (German: Führungsakademie der Bundeswehr, FüAkBw) is the General Staff College (Senior Military Academy) of the German armed forces, the Bundeswehr, established in 1957 as the successor of the Prussian Military Academy, founded in 1810. Since 1958 it is located in Hamburg. Its motto is "Mens agitat molem", which translates to "Mind moves Matter". Being the leading educational institution of the German armed forces, the academy is internationally renowned f... also: > [@](#): > > All Wehrmacht officers in World War II had passed through a Kriegsschule during their training. The Wehrmacht had five Kriegsschulen: at Potsdam, Dresden, München, Hannover in a building (1842/43) formerly called ‘Kadettenanstalt’ and later (since 1867) ‘Preußische Kriegsschule’ and Wiener-Neustadt. > **[Kriegsschule (Germany)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kriegsschule_(Wehrmacht))** > > A Kriegsschule was a general military school used for basic officer training and higher education in Germany starting in as early as the 17th century. There have been many Kriegsakademies (War academy), 'Kriegsschulen' (War Schools), or even Ritterakademies (Knight academy) in Germany. > The institutions were originally created to correct the defective education of the aristocracy because the knight order complained, "the young noblemen were too quickly tired of schools and studies show that even... ---
**Author:** ![Isosleepy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/isosleepy/32/479_2.png) [@Isosleepy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isosleepy)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2020, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-did-one-become-a-german-army-officer/848638/6 "2020-02-28T13:26:24Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![rsat3acr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@rsat3acr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rsat3acr)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2020, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-did-one-become-a-german-army-officer/848638/7 "2020-02-28T13:32:01Z")
> [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](#): > > 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? One can also get a direct commission. Such as a physician or priest. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2020, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-did-one-become-a-german-army-officer/848638/8 "2020-02-28T13:55:34Z")
I don’t know the exact details, but there are two Bundeswehr universities in Germany, the [Helmut Schmidt Universität der Bundeswehr](https://www.hsu-hh.de/studieninteressierte) in Hamburg and the [Universität der Bundeswehr in Munich](https://www.unibw.de/home-en). 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. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2020, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-did-one-become-a-german-army-officer/848638/9 "2020-02-28T15:22:56Z")
> [@bob\_2](#): > > There is also The Bundeswehr Command and Staff College. Thank you. In truth I already stopped by there looking for an answer. Remarkably, the college’s website is down. ---
**Author:** ![DinoR](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dinor/32/2821_2.png) [@DinoR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DinoR)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2020, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-did-one-become-a-german-army-officer/848638/10 "2020-02-28T15:35:59Z")
> [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](#): > > Thank you. In truth I already stopped by there looking for an answer. 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. ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2020, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-did-one-become-a-german-army-officer/848638/11 "2020-02-28T18:34:55Z")
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.”