Ocs

[ztoddman1]

While playing around on the net, I saw where there was a 5th and 6th year Officer Candidate School for certain branches of the DDR. Was there a 5th and 6th year for all of them or did they stop after the 4th?

[AR-11]

While playing around on the net, I saw where there was a 5th and 6th year Officer Candidate School for certain branches of the DDR. Was there a 5th and 6th year for all of them or did they stop after the 4th?

beginning in 1983 regular were 4 years study at the OHS. But there were special courses, mostly at civilian universities e.t.c., (i.e. medical men/women or lawyers) with more years.
I know, i.e., a sports-student, who became a NVA-officer. He wore 5-stripes shoulderboards...

AR-11, Dirk

[uscob]

I know that they made every Branch colour as 5th and 6th Grade maybe mostly for the ones who had to repeat a class as the normal time for OCS was 4 Years except Specialists. I know that Signals had 2 additional Years in Moscow so regular 6 Years.

[ztoddman1]

I was just trying to get an idea of the remainder of the shoulder boards I need and seems like I need just about all the 5th and 6th year boards from all colors. Jsut wanted to make sure they were out there before I do the digging to find them.
thanks

[uscob]

I was just trying to get an idea of the remainder of the shoulder boards I need and seems like I need just about all the 5th and 6th year boards from all colors. Jsut wanted to make sure they were out there before I do the digging to find them.
thanks

I just have all 6 Boards and every in a different colour on my Board. Makes it more difficult un the VM as they have only 3 Branch colours.
Also like Paras makes it not easy to find them, even the Small numbers, but 5 and 6. I only had 3 ea. of the high numbers. I'll bet, they fake them a lot, mostly by dying them with a waterproof marker.

[AR-11]

I know that they made every Branch colour as 5th and 6th Grade maybe mostly for the ones who had to repeat a class as the normal time for OCS was 4 Years except Specialists. I know that Signals had 2 additional Years in Moscow so regular 6 Years.

Sorry.
A repeating of a study-year was not planned or possible. At least not at the OHS Ernst Thälmann. I know it by my own study there. One of my comrades did not fulfill the sports-norms at the secound-year-norm-tests(end of the secound year, after comming back from the Wehrerziehungs-camps). So he had to wear the 2-stripes shoulderboards still at the beginning of the third year. As long, till he fullfilled the norms. (Supported by a lot of extra-trainings, several vacation-restrictions e.t.c.). He had to visit all the education with his platoon for the third year, but he was not allowed to wear the 3 stripes-shoulderboards.

AR-11

[ehrentitle]

Klaus Walther in Uniformeffekten indicates that the 5 year shoulder boards were made only in dark green (rear services), yellow (signal) and gray for the field service uniform.

The 6 year shoulder boards were only applicable for students at the Military Medical Section of the Ernst-Mortz-Arndt university Greifswald. They wore the dark green dress shoulder boards and on the field service uniform the gray shoulder boards.

My though is that the 5 and 6 years shoulder boards for all branches were made in 1990 in the months prior to and just after unification. A time when so many other interesting items, like restrikes of historic badges, were being made to keep civilian employees working.

[ztoddman1]

Klaus Walther in Uniformeffekten indicates that the 5 year shoulder boards were made only in dark green (rear services), yellow (signal) and gray for the field service uniform.

The 6 year shoulder boards were only applicable for students at the Military Medical Section of the Ernst-Mortz-Arndt university Greifswald. They wore the dark green dress shoulder boards and on the field service uniform the gray shoulder boards.

My though is that the 5 and 6 years shoulder boards for all branches were made in 1990 in the months prior to and just after unification. A time when so many other interesting items, like restrikes of historic badges, were being made to keep civilian employees working.

That is my thought and finally good to see somethign else about it. I have that book on CD but since my German is well, EXTREMELY limited, hard to follow. Wish an english version would come out....
Thanks for all the input.

[Ralph P]

I am not aware of the MfS using the shoulder boards beyond the four stripes...

[Rev462]

Going off the top of my head here, but isn't there a comment in the Walther book about the 5 & 6 year OCS boards (apart from the Rear Services & Signals) being fantasy items?

[uscob]

Going off the top of my head here, but isn't there a comment in the Walther book about the 5 & 6 year OCS boards (apart from the Rear Services & Signals) being fantasy items?

. Here I must say, that I got some Boxes with them directly from Depots, so I don't think the Forces ordered and stored fantasy items.

[ehrentitle]

. Here I must say, that I got some Boxes with them directly from Depots, so I don't think the Forces ordered and stored fantasy items.

Yes they do appear to be original material, but for what purpose? For example I have this set of Para 6th year academy shoulder boards and it's unlikely they were ever worn by anyone.

[uscob]

Kevin,
99.99% of tfhese are unused as they're used only in very small numbers. My ex-wife had loads of Para boards as she bought the stock from Willi Sänger incl. the Beer mugs for the 40th aniv. What was in the early 90's, so they produced stuff in advance but never used it or in other words, had the chance to use it. I think they planned to have a 2nd "Thousandyears Empire", but History told us the other way. just look at Sturms Boxes of "normal" Boards, sometimes a 1 kubikmeter Crate only for one Branch and Rank.

[torstenbel]

As Dirk has already pointed out, there were no repeat years to be done by anyone to get 5 or 6 stripes. If you completely failed a year then that was it, you were out. The only courses that I am aware of that had 5 and 6 years were medicine and law and I think there were a couple of 'very secret' specialists that studied in the Soviet Union that had to do five or six years, but these were only very few people. Some went straight on to further studies in the Soviet Union after their graduation from officer school in the DDR, but they would have graduated as Leutnant first and then went on to study as Leutnants and not as officer students. I do not know why there would be artillery or signals or infantry or panzer or whatever officer student boards with five or six stripes? I am not aware of any courses or carreer paths where these would have become necessary or where this would have been possible, other than these very few specialist courses in the Soviet Union. Cheers, Torsten.