DDR Wearing Soviet and DDR Military Akademy Badges

[Gordon Craig]

Period pictures indicate that officers wore their graduation badges in different ways. Phots show senior officers wearing just one badge and it could be either the DDR university badge or the USSR badge. Photos also show two badges worn together and in this case the Russian badge takes precedence over the German badge and is therefore worn next to the lapel/buttons on the tunic. To the right of that will be the German badge. This seems to have been standard practice in at least most of the WP countries. Since the easiest picture for me to post right now is that of a Hungarian General that is what the picture below shows. Keubke's book seems to indicate that DDR officers only wore one type of Soviet Akademy badge. If you study period photographs you will see that this is not correct. There were a number of different schools that a DDR officer could attend. For instance, a major would attend an academy which taught courses related to his arm of service while a DDR General officer would probably have a attended the Voroshilov Military Akademy. I have never seen a photo of two Soviet akademy badges in wear, at the same time, by a DDR General but to have reached this rank it is almost certain that he would have attended a lower akademy and once he attained the rank of full colonel of generalmajor would have attended the Voroshilov Akademy. I can only assume that the senior of the two akademy badges was worn.

The badges shown in the picture below are those of the Soviet Voroshilov Akademy and the Hungarain Zriny Miklos Akademy, the senior officer akademy of the Hungarian Armed Forces.

Regards,

Gordon

[hmfgreifswald]

Good question! Officers have take in first the soviet academy badges. That was the highs honore to study in USSR. And the east german acadmy badge was not so imported. And I have also no old picture in my collection with take 2 academy badges on the uniform.

[Taz]

Good question! Officers have take in first the soviet academy badges. That was the highs honore to study in USSR. And the east german acadmy badge was not so imported. And I have also no old picture in my collection with take 2 academy badges on the uniform.

Guys,

Not often but two badges were sometimes worn in the GDR. Although one GDR and one Soviet

Here is one for you, this was taken during the visit of Polish Army General F.Siwicki, the minister of national defense, 13.11.84 at the Friedrich Engels military academy.

As you can see the officer talking is wearing two badges, on the left the early version Friedrich Engels academy and most likely the Soviet Voroshilov Academy badges.

The Soviet badge is worn on right of the GDR badge denoting it's seniority. This should also be the case with Gordons pairing on the Hungarian uniform.

Regards Eddie

Edited December 23, 2008 by Taz