List of Germans

• Walter Gropius (1883–1969), architect • Carl Ludvig Engel (1778–1840), architect • Leo von Klenze (1784–1864), architect • Balthasar Neumann (1687–1753), architect and engineer • Matthäus Daniel Pöppelmann (1662–1736), architect • Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (1886–1969), architect • Karl Friedrich Schinkel (1781–1841), architect and painter • Johann Conrad Schlaun (1695–1773), architect • Gottfried Semper (1803–1879), architect • Albert Speer (1905–1981), architect • Wilhelm Kreis (1873–1955), architect == Artists ==

, 1831 , 1968 A–M • Hans von Aachen (1552–1615), mannerist painter • Albrecht Altdorfer (1480–1538), painter • Gertrud Arndt (1903–2000), photographer; pioneering self-portraiture • Thomas Anders (born 1963), singer, songwriter and producer • Ernst Barlach (1870–1938), sculptor and writer • Günther Behnisch (1922–2010), architect • Peter Behrens (1868–1940), architect • Sibylle Bergemann (1941–2010), photographer • Joseph Beuys (1921–1986), artist • Hermann Biow (1804–1850), photographer • Elisabeth Böhm (1921–2012), architect • Gottfried Böhm (1920–2021), architect • Erwin Bowien (1899-1972), painter • Arno Breker (1900–1991), sculptor • Lovis Corinth (1858–1925), painter • Lucas Cranach the Elder (1472–1553), painter • Lucas Cranach the Younger (1515–1586), painter • Yitzhak Danziger (1916–1977), Berlin-born Israeli sculptor • Otto Dix (1891–1969), painter • Albrecht Dürer (1471–1528), painter • Egon Eiermann (1904–1970), architect and designer • Max Ernst (1891–1976), surrealist painter • Carl Eytel (1862–1925), painter of desert landscapes in the American Southwest • Caspar David Friedrich (1774–1840), painter • Dörte Gatermann (born 1956), architect • Willi Glasauer (born 1938), artist • Walter Gropius (1883–1969), architect • George Grosz (1893–1959), artist • Matthias Grünewald (c. 1470 – 1528), German Renaissance painter • Johann Gottlieb Hantzsch (1794–1848), painter (genre works) • Bettina Heinen-Ayech (1937–2020), painter • Hannah Höch (1889–1978), artist • Hans Holbein the Elder (c. 1465 – 1524), painter • Hans Holbein the Younger (c. 1497 – 1543), illustrator and painter • Jörg Immendorff (1945–2007), painter • Helmut Jahn (1940–2021), architect and designer • Horst Janssen (1929–1995), draftsman, graphic artist, woodcutter, watercolour painter, writer • Ulli Kampelmann (born 1952), sculptor and painter • Anselm Kiefer (born 1945), painter • Martin Kippenberger (1953–1997), painter • Ernst Ludwig Kirchner (1880–1938), painter • Leo von Klenze (1784–1864), architect • Hans Kollhoff (born 1946), architect • Käthe Kollwitz (1867–1945), painter • Christian Lemmerz (born 1959), sculptor and scenographer • Max Liebermann (1847–1935), painter • Markus Lüpertz (born 1941), painter and sculptor • August Macke (1887–1914), painter • Harro Magnussen (1861–1908), sculptor • Franz Marc (1880–1916), painter • Hans Memling (c. 1430 – 1494), painter • Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (1886–1969), architect and designer • Paula Modersohn-Becker (1876–1907), painter • Georg Muche (1895–1987), painter, printmaker, architect, author and teacher • Bill Kaulitz (born 1989), songwriter, composer, singer-songwriter, voice actor, film producer, and lyricist • Tom Kaulitz (born 1989), songwriter, singer-songwriter, guitarist, pianist, voice actor, film producer, and lyricist • Georg Listing (born 1987), bassist and pianist • Gustav Schäfer (born 1988), musician and drummer N–Z • Helmut Newton (1920–2004), photographer • Frei Otto (1925–2015), architect and research scientist • Max Pechstein (1881–1955), painter • Sigmar Polke (1941–2010), painter • Gerhard Richter (born 1932), painter • Julius Runge (1843–1922), marine painter • Karl Friedrich Schinkel, architect and painter • Oskar Schlemmer (1888–1943), choreographer, painter, sculptor and stage designer • Eberhard Schlotter (1921–2014), painter • Karl Schmidt-Rottluff (1884–1976), painter • Kurt Schwitters, painter and poet • Fritz Schumacher (1869–1947), architect and urban designer • Max Slevogt, painter • Carl Spitzweg (1808–1885), painter • Birgit Stauch (born 1961), sculptor • Fritz Stoltenberg (1855–1921), landscape artist and marine painter • Franz Stuck (1863–1928), painter • Yigal Tumarkin (1933–2021), Israeli painter and sculptor • Wolf Vostell (1932–1998), artist • Bertha Wehnert-Beckmann (1815–1901), pioneering female photographer • Emilie Winkelmann (1875–1951), architect == Company founders ==

A–M • Karl Albrecht (1920–2014) and Theo Albrecht (1922–2010), founder of Aldi • Ludwig Bamberger (1823–1899), co-founder of Deutsche Bank • John Jacob Bausch (1830–1926), co-founder of Bausch & Lomb, makers of contact lenses and Ray-Ban sunglasses • Friedrich Bayer (1825–1880), founder of what would become Bayer, chemical and pharmaceutical company • Hans Beck (1929–2009), founder of Playmobil • Paul Beiersdorf (1836–1896), founded Beiersdorf AG, manufacturers of Nivea, Eucerin • Melitta Bentz (1873–1950), invented the coffee filter and started Melitta, manufacturers of coffee, paper coffee filters and coffee makers • Karl Benz (1844–1929), inventor of the gasoline-powered automobile; co-founder of the automobile manufacturer Mercedes-Benz • Maximilian Delphinius Berlitz (1852–1921), founder of Berlitz Language Schools • Carl Bertelsmann (1791–1850), founder of Bertelsmann AG, subsidiaries include Random House and BMG • Johann Adam Birkenstock, in 1774 founded Birkenstock shoe company • Hermann Blohm (1848–1930), in 1877, co-founder of Blohm+Voss, manufacturer of ships • Carl F. W. Borgward (1890–1963), founder of Borgward • August Borsig (1804–1854), founder of Borsig Werke • Robert Bosch (1861–1942), industrialist, engineer and inventor; founder of Robert Bosch GmbH • Hugo Boss (1885–1948), fashion designer, founder of Hugo Boss • Max Braun, founder of Braun GmbH, makers of personal care appliances, coffee makers and other home appliances • Adolphus Busch (1839–1913), co-founder of Anheuser-Busch brewing company • Adolph Coors (1847–1929), founder of the Adolph Coors Company brewery, now part of MillerCoors • Gottlieb Daimler (1834–1900), inventor and engineer; founder of Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft, now Daimler-Benz AG • Adolf Dassler (1900–1978), founder of sportswear company Adidas • Rudolf Dassler (1898–1974), founder of sportwear company Puma • Adelbert Delbrück (1822–1899), co-founder of Deutsche Bank • Guido Henckel von Donnersmarck (1830–1916), founder of company Schlesische AG für Bergbau und Zinkhüttenbetrieb • Claude Dornier (1884–1969), founder of Dornier Flugzeugwerke • Friedrich Engelhorn (1821–1902), founder of the chemical company BASF • Kaspar Faber (1730–1784), founder of Faber-Castell, manufacturers of office supplies, art supplies, writing instruments and leather goods • Günther Fielmann (1939–2024), founder of Fielmann • Wilhelm von Finck (1848–1924), co-founder of Munich Re and Allianz • Eduard Fresenius (1874–1946), founder of Fresenius • Jakob Fugger the Elder (1368–1469), founder of Fugger bank • Marcus Goldman (1821–1904), co-founder of Goldman Sachs • Max Grundig (1908–1989), founder of Grundig • Max Herz (1905–1965), co-founder of Tchibo • Ernst Heinkel (1888–1958), founder of Heinkel, manufacturer of airplanes • Richard Hellmann (1876–1971), founder of Hellmann's Mayonnaise • Friedrich Karl Henkel (1848–1930), founder of Henkel • J.A. Henckels, manufacturers of kitchen knives, scissors, cookware and flatware • August Horch (1868–1951), founder of Audi automobile company in 1909 • Helmut Horten (1909–1987), founder of Horten AG • August Howaldt (1809–1883), founder of Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft in 1835 • Hugo Junkers (1859–1935), founder of Junkers, manufacturer of airplanes in 1895 • Rudolph Karstadt (1856–1944), founder of Karstadt • Ernst Keil (1816–1878), founder and publisher of Die Gartenlaube • Carl Kellner (1826–1855), founder of Ernst Leitz GmbH, which later became Leica Camera AG, Leica Geosystems AG, and Leica Microsystems AG, producing cameras, geosurvey equipment and microscopes • Peter Klöckner (1863–1940), founder of Klöckner-Humboldt-Deutz AG and Klöckner & Co • Carl Heinrich Theodor Knorr (1800–1875) founder of Knorr • Friedrich Krupp (1787–1826), steel manufacturer and founder of the steel producers ThyssenKrupp • Heinrich Lanz (1838–1905), founder of Heinrich Lanz AG • Henry Lehman (1822–1855), Emanuel Lehman (1827–1907) and Mayer Lehman (1830–1897), German-born bankers, co-founders of Lehman Brothers • Carl von Linde (1842–1934), founder of The Linde Group • Henry Lomb (1828–1908), co-founder of Bausch & Lomb • Friedrich Lürssen (1851–1916), founder of Lürssen in 1875, manufacturers of ships • Oscar Ferdinand Mayer (1859–1955), founder of the processed-meat firm Oscar Mayer • Joseph Mendelssohn (1770–1848), founder of former bank Mendelssohn & Co. • Friedrich Jacob Merck (1621–1678), founder of Merck KGaA (Engel-Apotheke in Darmstadt) • George Merck (1867–1926), founder of Merck & Co. • Willy Messerschmitt (1875–1978), founder of Messerschmitt, airplane manufacturer • Heinrich Meyerfreund, founder of Garoto, chocolate company in Brazil • Carl Miele (1869–1938), founder of Miele, manufacturer of domestic appliances • Frederick Miller (born as Friedrich Eduard Johannes Müller) (1824–1888), founder of the Miller Brewing Company in 1855 N–Z • Josef Neckermann (1912–1992), founder of the company Neckermann • August Oetker (1862–1918), founder of the company Dr Oetker • Adam Opel (1837–1895), founder of the automobile company Opel • Salomon Oppenheim (1772–1828), founder of bank Sal. Oppenheim • Ernest Oppenheimer (1880–1957), diamond and gold mining entrepreneur, financier and philanthropist, who controlled De Beers and founded the Anglo American Corporation of South Africa • Werner Otto (1909–2011), founder of Otto GmbH, now Otto Group, a mail order company • Ferdinand Porsche (1875–1951), designer and founder of Porsche • Günther Quandt (1881–1954), industrial, entrepreneur of different companies (today includes BMW and Altana) • Karl Friedrich Rapp (1882–1962), co-founder of Rapp Motorenwerke GmbH, which later became BMW • Emil Rathenau (1838–1915), founder of AEG • Paul Reuter (1816–1899), pioneer of telegraphy and news reporting; founder of Reuters news agency • Hans Riegel, Sr. (1893–1945), founder of Haribo, manufacturer of gummy and jelly sweets • Nathan Mayer Rothschild (1777–1836), founder of British company N M Rothschild & Sons • Hugo Sack (1860–1909), cofounder of Sack & Kiesselbach and founder of Sack, GmbH • Ernst Christian Friedrich Schering (1824–1889), founder of the pharmaceutical company Schering AG • Gustav Schickedanz (1895–1977), founder of Quelle • Anton Schlecker (born 1944), founder of Schlecker • Ernst Schmidt and Wilhelm Schmidt-Ruthenbeck (1906–1988), founders of Metro AG • Fritz Sennheiser (1912–2010), founder of Sennheiser Electronic GmbH & Co. KG, specializing in high fidelity products • Georg von Siemens (1839–1901), co-founder of Deutsche Bank • Werner von Siemens (1816–1892), inventor, founder of Siemens, electronics and electrical engineering company • Axel Springer (1912–1985), publisher, founder of Axel Springer SE • J.S. Staedtler, in 1835 founded Staedtler Mars GmbH & Co. KG, suppliers of writing, artist, and engineering drawing instruments • Bruno Steinhoff (born 1937), founder of Steinhoff • Henry E. Steinway (1797–1871), founder of the piano company Steinway & Sons • Hugo Stinnes (1870–1924), co-founder of Rheinisch-Westfälisches Elektrizitätswerk AG • August Storck-Oberwelland, in 1903 founder of Werther's Sugar Confectionery Factory, now August Storck AG • Franz Ströher (born c. 1854–1936), in 1880 founded cosmetics company Wella • Carl Tchilinghiryan (1910–1987), co-founder of Tchibo • Carl von Thieme (1844–1924), founder of Allianz, financial services company • August Thyssen (1842–1926), founder of Walzwerk Thyssen & Co. in Mülheim an der Ruhr • Friedrich Thyssen (1804–1877), founder of Draht-Fabrik-Compagnie in Aachen • Hermann Tietz (1837–1907), founder of Hertie, department store • Leopold Ullstein (1826–1899), founder of publishing company Ullstein Verlag • Ernst Voss (1842–1920), in 1877, co-founder of Blohm+Voss, manufacturer of ships • Carl Walther (1858–1915), founder of Walther • Moses Marcus Warburg (1763–1820) and Gershon Warburg (1765–1826), co-founder of M. M. Warburg & Co., German bank • Siegmund Warburg, founder of S. G. Warburg & Co., British bank • Bartholomeus V. Welser (1484–1561), Welser brothers bank • Georg Wertheim (1857–1939), founder of Wertheim, department store • Stef Wertheimer (1926–2025), German-born Israeli industrialist, investor, philanthropist, billionaire and Member of the Knesset • Aloys Wobben (1952–2021), founder of Enercon • Reinhold Würth (born 1935), company Würth • Carl Zeiss (1816–1888), founder of Zeiss, maker of optical instruments • Ferdinand von Zeppelin (1838–1917), inventor of the Zeppelin; founder of the Zeppelin Airship company ==Fashion models==

• Nadja Auermann (born 1971), supermodel • Eugen Bauder (born 1986) • Charlott Cordes (born 1988) • Zohre Esmaeli (born 1985 in Afghanistan), model, author, designer • Toni Garrn (born 1992) • Lena Gercke (born 1988), winner of 2006 ''Germany's Next Topmodel'' • Stefanie Giesinger (born 1996), model • Jennifer Hof (born 1991), winner of 2008 ''Germany's Next Topmodel'' • Alexandra Kamp (born 1966) • Heidi Klum (born 1973), model and host of Project Runway and ''Germany's Next Topmodel'' • Diane Kruger (born 1976), model and actress • Barbara Meier (born 1986), winner of 2007 ''Germany's Next Topmodel'' • Nico (1938–1988), model, singer and actress • Uschi Obermaier (born 1946), model and actress • Eva Padberg (born 1980) • Tatjana Patitz (1966–2023), supermodel • Claudia Schiffer (born 1970), supermodel • Julia Stegner (born 1984) == Fashionmakers ==

• Hugo Boss (1885–1948), fashion designer • Wolfgang Joop (born 1944), fashion designer • Karl Lagerfeld (1933–2019), fashion designer • Michael Michalsky (born 1967), fashion designer ==Film and theatre==

Actresses and actors A–M • Inga Abel (1946–2000), actress • Mario Adorf (1930–2026), actor and writer • Hans Albers (1891–1960), actor • Iris Berben (born 1950), actress • Moritz Bleibtreu (born 1971), actor • Grit Boettcher (born 1938), actress • Eric Braeden (born Hans Gudegast, 1941), actor • Daniel Brühl (born 1978), actor • Horst Buchholz (1933–2003), actor • Vicco von Bülow (also known as Loriot), actor and comedian • Zazie Beetz (born 1991), German born American actress • Hans Clarin (1930–2005), actor • August Diehl (born 1976), actor • Marlene Dietrich (1901–1992), actress • George Dzundza (born 1945), actor • Heinz Erhardt (1909–1979), actor and comedian • Veronica Ferres (born 1965), actress • Gert Fröbe (1913–1988), actor • Cornelia Froboess (born 1943), actress • Martina Gedeck (born 1961), actress • Götz George (1938–2016), actor • Heinrich George (1893–1946), actor • Gustaf Gründgens (1899–1963), actor • Eva Habermann (born 1976), actress and model • Evelyn Hamann (1942–2007), actress • Brigitte Helm (1908–1996), actress • Henriette Hendel-Schütz (1772–1849), stage actress, mimoplastic performer • Michael Herbig (born 1968), actor, director and comedian • Emil Jannings (1884–1950), actor • Harald Juhnke (1929–2005), actor and comedian • Heidi Kabel (1914–2010), actress • Klaus Kinski (1926–1991), actor; Polish-German father, German mother • Nastassja Kinski (born 1959), actress; daughter of actor Klaus Kinski • Heidi Klum (born 1973), model and actress • Hildegard Knef (1925–2002), actress, singer and writer • Sebastian Koch (born 1962), actor • Thomas Kretschmann (born 1962), actor and model • Diane Kruger (born 1976), actress and model • Alexandra Maria Lara (born 1978), actress • Martin Lawrence (born 1965), actor • Siegfried Lowitz (1914–1999), actor • Heike Makatsch (born 1971), actress • Hanna Maron (1923–2014), Israeli actress • Inge Meysel (1910–2004), actress • Brigitte Mira (1910–2005), actress • Willy Millowitsch (1909–1999), actor • Ulrich Mühe (1953–2007), actor • Armin Mueller-Stahl (born 1930), actor N–Z • Luise Neumann (1818–1905) • Uwe Ochsenknecht (born 1956), actor • Christian Oliver (1972–2024), actor • Lilli Palmer (1914–1986), actress • Franka Potente (born 1974), actress • Jürgen Prochnow (born 1941), actor • Luise Rainer (1910–2014), actress • Heinz Rühmann (1902–1994), actor • Otto Sander (1941–2013), actor • Claudia Schiffer (born 1970), actress and supermodel • Romy Schneider (1938–1982), actress • Jessica Schwarz (born 1977), actress • Til Schweiger (born 1963), actor • Matthias Schweighöfer (born 1981), actor • Hanna Schygulla (born 1943), actress • Xenia Seeberg (born 1972), actress and model • Tomer Sisley (born 1974), Israeli humorist, actor, screenwriter, comedian, and film director • Kristina Söderbaum (1912–2001), actress and photographer • Günter Strack (1929–1999), actor • Barbara Sukowa (born 1950), actress • Horst Tappert (1923–2008), actor • Katharina Thalbach (born 1954), actress • Nora Tschirner (born 1981), actress • Ulrich Tukur (born 1957), actor • Nadja Uhl (born 1972), actress • Wolfgang Völz (1930–2018), actor • Fritz Wepper (1941–2024), actor • Luise del Zopp (1871–1946), actress, opera singer, screenwriter Filmmakers • Uwe Boll, film director • Andreas Deja, animator • Doris Dörrie, female film director • Bernd Eichinger (1949–2011), film producer • Roland Emmerich (born 1955), film director (Stargate, Independence Day, Godzilla, The Day After Tomorrow) • Harun Farocki (1944–2014), film director • Rainer Werner Fassbinder (1945–1982), film director • Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, film director; Academy Award winner • Werner Herzog (born 1942), film director • Oliver Hirschbiegel, film director • Alexander Kluge (born 1932), film director • Carl Koch (1892–1963), film director and writer • Fritz Lang (1890–1976), film director • Ernst Lubitsch (1892–1947), film director • F.W. Murnau (1888–1931), film director • Wolfgang Petersen (1941–2022), film director • Ashwin Raman (born 1946), documentary filmmaker • Leni Riefenstahl (1902–2003), female film director • Helma Sanders-Brahms (1940–2014), film director • Peter Schamoni (1934–2011), film director • Volker Schlöndorff (born 1939), film director • Andreas Schnaas (born 1968), film director • Hans-Jürgen Syberberg (born 1935), film director • Tom Tykwer (born 1965), film director • Margarethe von Trotta (born 1942), film director • Robert Wiene, film director • Wim Wenders (born 1945), film director • William Wyler, (1902–1981), film director ==Literature==

Classic • Adam of Bremen (c. 1050 – c. 1085), medieval chronicler • Joseph von Auffenberg (1798–1857), dramatist • Heinrich Böll (1917–1985), author • Bertolt Brecht (1898–1956), playwright and poet • Clemens Brentano (1778–1842), poet and novelist • Georg Büchner, dramatist and author • Charles Bukowski (1920–1994), German-born American poet, novelist, and short story writer • Wilhelm Busch (1832–1908), poet and satirist • Annette von Droste-Hülshoff (1797–1848), poet • Joseph von Eichendorff (1788–1857), poet • Theodor Fontane (1819–1898), novelist and poet • Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832), author and poet • Brothers Grimm, collectors of fairy tales • Heinrich Heine (1797–1856), poet • Johann Gottfried Herder (1744–1803), essayist and poet • Hermann Hesse (1877–1962), author • E.T.A. Hoffmann (1776–1822), author • Friedrich Hölderlin (1770–1843), poet • Ernst Jünger (1895–1998), writer and novelist • Erich Kästner (1899–1974), novelist • Heinrich von Kleist (1777–1811), poet, dramatist and novelist • Gotthold Lessing (1729–1781), writer • Heinrich Mann (1871–1950), author (brother of Thomas Mann) • Thomas Mann (1875–1955), author (brother of Heinrich Mann) • Karl May (1842–1912), author • Theodor Mommsen (1817–1903), A history of Rome • Christian Morgenstern (1871–1914), poet • Novalis (1772–1801), poet and novelist • Erich Maria Remarque (1898–1970), novelist • Friedrich Schiller (1759–1805), poet and playwright • Arno Schmidt (1914–1979), writer • Theodor Storm (1817–1888), author • Kurt Tucholsky (1890–1935), writer and satirist • Walter von der Vogelweide (c. 1170 – c. 1230), poet • Christa Wolf (1929–2011), novelist and essayist • Wolfram von Eschenbach (died 1220), poet Major • Yehuda Amichai (born Ludwig Pfeuffer; 1924–2000), German-born Israeli poet • Ernst Moritz Arndt, poet, songwriter and patriot • Achim von Arnim (1781–1831), poet • Bettina von Arnim (1785–1859), writer and novelist • Ezriel Carlebach (1909–1956), Israeli journalist and editorial writer • Matthias Claudius (1740–1815), poet and writer • Michael Ende (1929–1995), author of fantasy novels and children's books • Erik Erikson (1902–1994), German-American writer, developmental psychologist and psychoanalyst • Anne Frank (1929–1945), diarist and victim of the Holocaust • Paul Gerhardt (c. 1606 – 1676), hymn writer • Leah Goldberg (1911–1970), Israeli poet • Joseph Görres (1776–1848), essayist • Wilhelm Hauff (1802–1827), writer • Paul Heyse (1830–1914), writer and translator • Janosch (born 1931), author of artist and children's books • Friedrich Kellner (1885–1970), diarist of My Opposition • Golo Mann (1909–1994), author and historian (second-oldest son of Thomas Mann) • Klaus Mann (1906–1949), author (oldest son of Thomas Mann) • Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué (1777–1843), writer • Prince Hermann von Pückler-Muskau (1785–1871), writer and landscape gardener • Otfried Preussler (1923–2013), author of children's books • Wilhelm Raabe (1831–1910), novelist • Peter Rühmkorf (1929–2008), poet • Nelly Sachs (1891–1970), poet • Leopold Schefer (1784–1861), writer, poet and composer • August Wilhelm Schlegel (1767–1845), poet and translator • Ludwig Tieck (1773–1853), poet, editor and novelist • Ludwig Uhland (1787–1862), poet, writer and playwright • Gero von Wilpert (1933–2009), essayist Contemporary • Hans Magnus Enzensberger (1929–2022), essayist and poet • Günter Grass (1927–2015), author; recipient, 1999 Nobel Prize in Literature • Peter Härtling (1933–2017), author • Rolf Hochhuth (1931–2020), playwright • Wladimir Kaminer (born 1967), short story writer • Daniel Kehlmann (born 1975), novelist • Siegfried Lenz (1926–2014), author • Ferdinand von Schirach (born 1964), author, screenwriter and lawyer • Bernhard Schlink (born 1944), author and professor of law • Patrick Süskind (born 1949), author and screenwriter • Rudolf von Waldenfels (born 1965), author • Martin Walser (1927–2023), playwright and novelist == Humorists, cabaret performers and comedians ==

• Dieter Hildebrandt (1927–2013), cabaret performer • Bruno Jonas (born 1952), cabaret performer • Michael Mittermeier (born 1966), comedian • Georg Schramm (born 1949), cabaret performer • Mathias Richling (born 1953), cabaret performer • Richard Rogler (1949–2024), cabaret performer • Daniel Tosh (born 1975), comedian == Journalists ==

• Rudolf Augstein (1923–2002), journalist • Peter Limbourg (born 1960), journalist • Marion Dönhoff (1909–2002), journalist • Günther Jauch (born 1956), journalist • Sabine Christiansen (born 1957), journalist • Maybrit Illner (born 1965), journalist • Anne Will (born 1966), journalist • Sandra Maischberger (born 1966), journalist == Mathematicians ==

• Wilhelm Ackermann (1896–1962), mathematician • Georg Cantor (1845–1918), mathematician • Richard Dedekind (1831–1916), mathematician • Walther von Dyck (1856–1934), mathematician • Albert Einstein (1879–1955), mathematician, physicist • Gottlob Frege (1848–1925), mathematician • Philipp Furtwängler (1869–1940), mathematician • Carl Friedrich Gauss (1777–1855), mathematician • Ernst Hellinger (1883–1950), mathematician • David Hilbert (1862–1943), mathematician • Carl Gustav Jacob Jacobi (1804–1851), mathematician • Erich Kähler (1906–2000), mathematician • Johannes Kepler (1571–1630), mathematician and astronomer • Felix Christian Klein (1849–1925), mathematician • Hermann Klaus Hugo Weyl (1885–1955), mathematician • Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1646–1716), mathematician • Kurt Mendelssohn (1906–1980), mathematician • Hermann Minkowski (1864–1909), mathematician • August Ferdinand Möbius (1790–1868), mathematician, theoretical astronomer • Carl Neumann (1832–1925), mathematician • Emmy Noether (1882–1935), mathematician • Georg Ohm (1789–1854), mathematician • Carl Adam Petri (1926–2010), mathematician, computer scientist • Julius Plücker (1801–1868), mathematician • Bernhard Riemann (1826–1866), mathematician • Adam Ries (1492–1559), mathematician, physicist, archeologist • Gustav Roch (1839–1866) mathematician • Eric Reissner (1913–1996), mathematician, engineer • Carl David Tolmé Runge (1856–1927), mathematician, physicist, spectroscopist • Heinrich Scherk (1798–1885), mathematician • Herman Schwarz (1843–1921), mathematician • Carl Ludwig Siegel (1896–1981), mathematician • Roland Sprague (1894–1967), mathematician • Heinrich Martin Weber (1842–1913), mathematician • Karl Weierstrass (1815–1897), mathematician • Max Zorn (1906–1993), mathematician ==Military==

• Heinrich Bürkle de la Camp (1895–1974), general who specialized as a medic and army doctor • Carl von Clausewitz (1780–1831), Prussian professional soldier, military historian, and influential military theorist • Erich von Falkenhayn (1861–1922), general, Prussian Minister of War (1913–1915) and Chief of General Staff (1914–1916) • August von Gneisenau (1760–1831), Prussian field marshal and chief of the Prussian General Staff (1813–1814) • Heinz Guderian (1888–1954), military theorist and innovative general (1907–1945) • Erich Hartmann (1922–1993), fighter pilot and air ace (1941–1970) • Gotthard Heinrici (1886–1971), Premier Defensive Expert of the Wehrmacht (1905–1945) • Hermann Hohn (1897–1968), Wehrmacht general • Alfred Jodl (1890–1946), general, operations chief of the OKW • Günther von Kluge (1882–1944), field marshal and commander of the Fourth Army (1939–1941) and Army Group Center (1941–43) • Erich Ludendorff (1865–1937), general and Quartermaster General (1916–1918) • Erich von Manstein (1887–1973), field marshal and professional soldier (1906–1944) • Helmuth von Moltke the Elder (1800–1891), field marshal, chief of staff of the Prussian Army for thirty years • Friedrich Paulus (1890–1957), general and commander of the German Sixth Army, later promoted to Field Marshal (1910–1943) • Günther Rall (1918–2009), third highest scoring fighter ace in history with 275 confirmed kills while serving as a pilot in the Luftwaffe in World War II • Manfred von Richthofen, also known as the Red Baron (1892–1918), fighter pilot and air ace • Erwin Rommel (1891–1944), field marshal and commander of Afrika Korps (1942–1943) and Army Group B (1944) • Albrecht von Roon (1803–1879), field marshal, Minister of War from (1859–1873) • Hans-Ulrich Rudel (1916–1982), Stuka dive-bomber pilot and air ace (1936–1945) • Gerd von Rundstedt (1875–1953), field marshal and commander (1892–1945) • Alfred von Schlieffen (1833–1913), field marshal, Strategist and Chief of General Staff (1891–1905) • Gerhard von Scharnhorst (1755–1813), general and Prussian Minister of War (1808–1810) • Michael Wittmann (1914–1944), SS captain and tank ace (1934–1944) ==Music==

Composers • Carl Friedrich Abel (1725–1787), composer • Martin Agricola (1466–1506), composer • Siegfried Alkan (1858–1941), composer • Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (1714–1788), composer; son of Johann Sebastian Bach • Johann Christian Bach (1735–1782), composer; son of Johann Sebastian Bach • Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750), composer • Klaus Badelt (born 1967), film composer (Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, Miami Vice, Ultraviolet, 2008 Summer Olympics closing ceremony in Beijing) • Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827), composer • Martin Böttcher (1927–2019), film composer (Karl May film adaptations) • Johannes Brahms (1833–1897), composer • Max Bruch (1838–1920), composer • Dieterich Buxtehude (c. 1637/39–1707), Danish-German organist and composer of the Baroque period • Hanns Eisler (1898–1962), composer • Friedrich von Flotow (1812–1883), composer • Christoph Willibald Gluck (1714–1787), composer • Georg Friedrich Händel (1685–1759), composer, opera composer • Fanny Hensel (1805–1847), composer • Paul Hindemith (1895–1963), composer • Engelbert Humperdinck (1854–1921), composer • Albert Lortzing (1801–1851), composer • Giacomo Meyerbeer (1791–1864), composer • Felix Mendelssohn (1809–1847), composer • Leopold Mozart (1719–1787), composer, conductor, teacher, and violinist; father of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart • Jacques Offenbach (1819–1880), composer • Carl Orff (1895–1982), composer • Johann Pachelbel (1653–1706), composer • Hans Pfitzner (1869–1949), composer • Max Reger (1873–1916), composer • Wolfgang Rihm (1952–2024), composer • Leopold Schefer (1784–1862), writer and composer • Clara Schumann (1819–1896), composer • Robert Schumann (1810–1856), composer and songwriter • Heinrich Schütz (1585–1672), composer • Charlotte Seither (born 1965), classical composer, pianist and music educator • Karlheinz Stockhausen (1928–2007), modern composer • Richard Strauss (1864–1949), composer, opera composer • Georg Philipp Telemann (1681–1767), composer • Richard Wagner (1813–1883), composer • Carl Maria von Weber (1786–1826), composer • Kurt Weill (1900–1950), composer (The Threepenny Opera, "September Song") • Hans Zimmer (born 1957), film composer (The Lion King, Crimson Tide, Gladiator, The Dark Knight, Inception, Dune) Conductors, instrumentalists and singers A–M • Hans Albers (1891–1960), singer and actor • Thomas Anders (born 1963), singer • Lale Andersen (1905–1972), singer • Lou Bega (born 1975), singer • Andrea Berg (born 1966), singer-songwriter • Wolf Biermann (born 1936), singer-songwriter and East German dissident • Dieter Bohlen (born 1954), music producer • Andreas Bourani (born 1983), singer-songwriter • Hans-Jürgen Buchner (born 1944), founder, composer, songwriter of the band Haindling • Fritz Busch (1890–1951), conductor • Bushido (born 1978), rapper • Campino (born 1962), lead singer of the band Die Toten Hosen • Yvonne Catterfeld (born 1979), singer • Sarah Connor (born 1980), pop and soul singer • Michael (born 1957) and Sandra Cretu (born 1962), founders and performers of the musical project Enigma and the group Sandra • Diana Damrau (born 1971), coloratura soprano opera singer • Marlene Dietrich (1901–1992), singer • Herbert Dreilich (1942–2004), singer of the Band Karat • Jürgen Drews (born 1945), singer • Katja Ebstein (born 1945), singer • Fancy (born 1946), singer • Frank Farian (1941–2024), German record producer and songwriter • Helene Fischer (born 1984), singer • Gertrude Förstel (1880–1950), operatic soprano, voice teacher • Peter Fox (born 1971), singer • Thekla Friedländer (1849–?), soprano and social reformer • Wilhelm Furtwängler (1886–1954), conductor and composer • Rex Gildo (1936–1999), singer • Bernd Heinrich Graf, lead singer of the Band Unheilig • Antye Greie (born 1969), vocalist, musician and composer • Herbert Grönemeyer (born 1956), singer • Gudrun Gut (born 1957), electronic musician • Nina Hagen (born 1955), singer • Heino (born 1938), pop singer • Willy Hess (1859–1939), violinist • Natalie Horler (born 1981), member of the band Cascada • Torben Holzhausen (unknown-present) Member of the band Abenteuer Wildnis • Annette Humpe (born 1950), singer of the bands Ideal and Ich + Ich • Matthias Jabs (born 1955), guitarist of the band Scorpions • Roland Kaiser (born 1952), singer • Bill Kaulitz (born 1989), lead singer of the band Tokio Hotel • John Kay (musician) (born 1944), German–Canadian musician • Zah1de (born 2010), rapper • Jonas Kaufmann (born 1969), operatic tenor • Gershon Kingsley (1922–2019), composer • Alexander Klaws (born 1983), singer • Hildegard Knef (1925–2002), singer • Peter Kraus (born 1939), singer • Mike Kogel (born 1944), lead singer of the band Los Bravos • Rolf Köhler (1951–2007), singer, musician and record producer • Paul Kuhn (1928–2013), band leader and singer • LaFee (born 1990), singer • Ute Lemper (born 1963), singer • Udo Lindenberg (born 1946), singer • Michail Lifits (born 1982), concert pianist • Till Lindemann (born 1963), lead singer of the band Rammstein • Georg Listing, bassist of the band Tokio Hotel • Frida Lyngstad (born 1945), lead singer of the pop group ABBA • Peter Maffay (born 1949), singer • Klaus Meine (born 1948), vocalist of the band Scorpions • Reinhard Mey (born 1942) • Lena Meyer-Landrut (born 1991), singer • Marius Müller-Westernhagen (born 1948), singer • Karl Münchinger (1915–1990), conductor • Anne-Sophie Mutter (born 1963), violinist N–Z • Xavier Naidoo (born 1971) • Meshell Ndegeocello (born 1969), born of American parents in Germany • Nena (born 1960) • Nicole (born 1964), singer • Klaus Nomi (1944–1983) • Lisa Otto (1919–2013), opera singer • Hedwig Reicher-Kindermann (1853–1883), opera singer • Martin Rich (1905–2000), conductor and pianist • Marianne Rosenberg (born 1955), singer-songwriter • Anneliese Rothenberger (1924–2010), singer • Ralph Siegel (born 1945), senior songwriter • Sandra (born 1962), singer • Kool Savas (born 1975), half German, half Turkish singer • Gustav Schäfer, drummer of the band Tokio Hotel • Michael Schenker (born 1955), guitar player of band UFO and solo career • Florian Silbereisen (born 1981), singer, tv host • Rudolf Schenker (born 1948), guitarist of the band Scorpions; brother of Michael Schenker • Peter Schilling (born 1956), singer • Sido (born 1980), rapper • Cassandra Steen (born 1980), German-American singer-songwriter, and voice actress • Farin Urlaub (born 1963), lead singer of the band Die Ärzte • Lena Valaitis (born 1943), singer • Paul van Dyk (born 1971), DJ, musician and record producer • Hannes Wader (born 1943), singer-songwriter • Claire Waldoff (1884–1957), singer • Bruno Walter (1876–1962), conductor and composer • Konstantin Wecker (born 1947), singer-songwriter ==Philosophy==

Classic • Theodor Adorno (1903–1969), philosopher, sociologist and composer • Albertus Magnus (c. 1193 – 1280), medieval philosopher and theologian • Hannah Arendt (1906–1975), political theorist • Walter Benjamin (1892–1943) • Ernst Bloch (1885–1977) • Jakob Böhme (1575–1624), mystic philosopher • Franz Brentano (1838–1917), philosopher and psychologist • Rudolf Carnap (1891–1970), philosopher • Ernst Cassirer (1874–1945) • Wilhelm Dilthey (1833–1911), philosopher, historian, psychologist • Ludwig Feuerbach (1804–1872), philosopher • Johann Gottlieb Fichte (1762–1814), philosopher • Gottlob Frege (1848–1925), mathematician, logician and philosopher • Eduard von Hartmann (1842–1906), philosopher • Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770–1831), philosopher • Martin Heidegger (1889–1976), philosopher • Max Horkheimer (1895–1973) • Edmund Husserl (1859–1938), philosopher • Karl Jaspers (1883–1969), philosopher • Immanuel Kant (1724–1804), philosopher • Gottfried Leibniz (1646–1716), physicist, philosopher • Karl Marx (1818–1883), philosopher and sociologist • Moses Mendelssohn (1729–1786), philosopher • Lorenz Christoph Mizler (1711–1778), philosopher active in Poland • Nikolaus Cusanus (1401–1462), philosopher, theologian, mathematician • Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900), early existentialist philosopher • Friedrich Schelling (1775–1854), philosopher • Moritz Schlick (1882–1936), philosopher • Arthur Schopenhauer (1788–1860), philosopher • Christian Wolff (1679–1754), philosopher Major • Bruno Bauer (1809–1882), political theorist and philosopher • Friedrich Engels (1820–1895), philosopher, political economist • Rudolf Christoph Eucken (1846–1926), philosopher • Erich Fromm (1900–1980) • Hans-Georg Gadamer (1900–2002), philosopher • Wilhelm von Humboldt (1767–1835), philosopher, linguist, government functionary, diplomat; brother of Alexander von Humboldt • Ludwig Klages (1872–1956), philosopher • Leo Löwenthal (1900–1993) • Karl Löwith (1897–1973) • Herbert Marcuse (1898–1979) • Samuel von Pufendorf (1632–1694), moral and political philosopher • Johann Karl Friedrich Rosenkranz (1805–1879) • Franz Rosenzweig (1886–1929) • Max Scheler (1874–1928), philosopher • Carl Schmitt (1888–1985), political theorist • Georg Simmel (1859–1918), philosopher and sociologist • Max Stirner (1806–1856), philosopher • Carl Friedrich von Weizsäcker (1912–2007), philosopher and physicist Contemporary • Hans Albert (1921–2023), philosopher • Kurt Flasch (born 1930), philosopher • Jürgen Habermas (1929–2026), philosopher, social theorist • Dieter Henrich (1927–2022), philosopher • Odo Marquard (1928–2015), philosopher • Julian Nida-Rümelin (born 1954), philosopher and political theorist • Konrad Ott (born 1959), moral philosopher and environmentalist • Peter Sloterdijk (born 1947), philosopher and television host • Robert Spaemann (1927–2018), philosopher • Oswald Spengler (1880–1936), philosopher of history; best known for his book "The Decline of the West" (Der Untergang des Abendlandes) • Ernst Tugendhat (1930–2023), philosopher ==Politicians==

Miscellaneous • Rainer Barzel (1924–2006), leader of the party Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU) • August Bebel (1840–1913), co-founder of the Social Democratic Party of Germany • Rudolf von Bennigsen (1824–1902), founder of the National Liberal Party • Eduard Bernstein (1850–1932), Social Democratic leader • Heinrich von Brentano (1904–1964), Foreign Minister Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU) • Julius Curtius (1877–1948), Foreign Minister (German People's Party) • Matthias Erzberger (1875–1921), Catholic Center party leader • Joschka Fischer (born 1948), Foreign Minister and vice chancellor 1998–2005 (Bündnis 90/Die Grünen) • Heinrich Karl Fricke (1884–1945), diplomat, businessperson, and spy • Hans-Dietrich Genscher (1927–2016), former minister for foreign affairs (FDP) • Jakob Grimm (1785–1863), parliamentarian • Wilhelm Grimm (1786–1859), parliamentarian • Gregor Gysi (born 1948), former leader of the Party of Democratic Socialism • Georg Hornstein (1900–1942), resistance fighter during the period of National Socialism (Nazism) • Alfred Hugenberg (1865–1951), leader of the German National People's Party • Johann Jacoby (1805–1877), radical democrat in Prussia • Luise Kähler (1869–1955), trade union leader, founding member of Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED) • Karl Kautsky (1854–1938), Social Democratic leader and theoretician • Petra Kelly (1947–1992), co-founder of the German Green Party • Roland Koch (born 1958), Minister-President of Hesse • Oskar Lafontaine (born 1943), socialist, former minister for finance • Ferdinand Lassalle (1825–1864), democrat and socialist • Karl Liebknecht (1871–1919), socialist • Wilhelm Liebknecht (1826–1900), co-founder of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) • Rosa Luxemburg (1870–1919), left-wing Social Democratic leader • Gudrun Masloch (born 1969), German ambassador to Latvia • Jakob Maria Mierscheid (born 1933), virtual parliamentarian (SPD) • Hans Modrow (1928–2023), former leader of GDR, honorary chairman of PDS • Hermann Müller (1876–1931), Chancellor of the Weimar Republic (SPD) • Erich Ollenhauer (1901–1963), leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) • Antonie "Toni" Pfülf (1877–1933), female socialist (SPD) • Walther Rathenau (1867–1922), foreign minister (DDP) • Eugen Richter (1838–1906), liberal politician • Wolfgang Schäuble (1942–2023), Christian politician, financial minister (CDU) • Carlo Schmid (1896–1979), politician who had vast influence on the content of the German Basic Law after World War II • Gerhard Schröder (1910–1989), foreign minister, minister of the Interior (CDU) • Kurt Schumacher (1895–1952), leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany in the early years of the FRG • Baron Heinrich vom Stein (1757–1831) • Edmund Stoiber (born 1941), party leader of the CSU and former minister president of Bavaria • Franz Josef Strauss (1915–1988), Bavarian politician (CSU) • Ernst Thälmann (1886–1944), leader of the Communist Party of Germany during the Weimar period • Hans-Jochen Vogel (1926–2020), leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), federal minister of justice • Otto Wels (1873–1939), leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) • Guido Westerwelle (1961–2016), party leader of the liberal party (FDP) • Klaus Wowereit (born 1953), social democrat politician (SPD) • Clara Zetkin (1857–1933), socialist and fighter for women's rights • Silke Grimm (born 1967), German politician Chancellors of Germany 1871–1945 • Gustav Bauer (1870–1944), chancellor of the Weimar Republic (SPD) • Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg (1856–1921), Imperial Chancellor • Otto von Bismarck (1815–1898), Imperial Chancellor • Heinrich Brüning (1885–1970), Chancellor of the Weimar Republic (Centre Party) • Bernhard von Bülow (1849–1929), Imperial Chancellor • Leo von Caprivi (1831–1899), Imperial Chancellor • Wilhelm Cuno (1876–1933), Chancellor of the Weimar Republic • Constantin Fehrenbach (1852–1926), Chancellor of the Weimar Republic (Centre) • Georg von Hertling (1843–1919), Imperial Chancellor • Adolf Hitler (1889–1945), Leader of Nazi Germany, combining legally the offices of President and Chancellor ("Führer und Reichskanzler") (1933–1945) • Prince Chlodwig zu Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst (1819–1901), Imperial Chancellor • Hans Luther (1885–1962), Chancellor of the Weimar Republic • Wilhelm Marx (1863–1946), Chancellor of the Weimar Republic (Centre) • Prince Maximilian of Baden (1867–1929), Last Imperial Chancellor • Georg Michaelis (1857–1936), Imperial Chancellor • Franz von Papen (1879–1969), Chancellor of the Weimar Republic • Philipp Scheidemann (1865–1939), Chancellor of Weimar Republic (SPD) • Kurt von Schleicher (1882–1934), last Chancellor of the Weimar Republic • Gustav Stresemann (1878–1929), Chancellor of the Weimar Republic (DVP) • Joseph Wirth (1879–1956), Chancellor of the Weimar Republic (Centre) Chancellors of Germany (after World War II) (in chronological order) • Konrad Adenauer (1876–1967), first democratically elected Federal Chancellor in Western Germany (after World War II) from 1949 to 1963 (Christian-Democratic Union, CDU) • Ludwig Erhard (1897–1977), Federal Chancellor from 1963 to 1966 (CDU) • Kurt Georg Kiesinger (1904–1988), Federal Chancellor from 1966 to 1969 (CDU) • Willy Brandt (1913–1992), Federal Chancellor from 1969 to 1974 (Social Democratic Party, SPD) • Helmut Schmidt (1918–2015), Federal Chancellor from 1974 to 1982 (SPD) • Helmut Kohl (1930–2017), Federal Chancellor from 1982 to 1998 (CDU) • Gerhard Schröder (born 1944), Federal Chancellor from 1998 to 2005 (SPD) • Angela Merkel (born 1954), Federal Chancellor from 2005 to 2021 (CDU) • Olaf Scholz (born 1958), Federal Chancellor from 2021 to 2025 (SPD) • Friedrich Merz (born 1955), Federal Chancellor since 2025 (CDU) Presidents of Germany (in chronological order) • Friedrich Ebert (1871–1925), first president of the Weimar Republic (SPD) 1919–25 • Paul von Hindenburg (1847–1934), field marshal, president 1925–34 • Adolf Hitler (1889–1945), combining legally both offices, president and chancellor ("Führer und Reichskanzler") 1933–45 • Karl Dönitz (1891–1980), Admiral of the Fleet, after Hitler's death, president for 22 days, 1945 Presidents of the Federal Republic of Germany since 1949: (in chronological order) • Theodor Heuss (1884–1963), Federal President 1949–59 (Liberal-Democratic Party, FDP) • Heinrich Lübke (1894–1972), Federal President 1959–69 (CDU) • Gustav Heinemann (1899–1976), Federal President 1969–74 (SPD) • Walter Scheel (1919–2016), Federal President 1974–79 (FDP) • Karl Carstens (1914–1992), Federal President 1979–84 (CDU) • Richard von Weizsäcker (1920–2015), Federal President 1984–94 (CDU) • Roman Herzog (1934–2017), Federal President 1994–99 (CDU) • Johannes Rau (1931–2006), Federal President 1999–2004 (SPD) • Horst Köhler (1943–2025), Federal President 2004–10 (CDU) • Jens Böhrnsen (born 1949), acting president since resignation of Köhler in 2010 (SPD) • Christian Wulff (born 1959), Federal President 2010–12 (CDU) • Horst Seehofer (born 1949), acting president since resignation of Wulff in 2012 (CDU) • Joachim Gauck (born 1940), Federal President 2012–2017 (Independent) • Frank-Walter Steinmeier (born 1956) Federal President since 19 March 2017 (SPD) ===Politicians of the East German Communist Party and regime=== • Otto Grotewohl (1894–1964), minister president of the GDR • Erich Honecker (1912–1994), leader of the GDR until 1989 • Egon Krenz (born 1937), leader of the GDR after Honecker • Erich Mielke (1907–2000), head of the Stasi • Wilhelm Pieck (1876–1960), first president of the GDR • Heinrich Rau (1899–1961), chairman of the German Economic Commission (predecessor of the East German government) • Günter Schabowski (1929–2015), member of politburo • Willy Stoph (1914–1999), premier of the GDR • Walter Ulbricht (1893–1973), leader of the GDR ===Personalities of the Nazi Party and regime=== • Artur Axmann (1913–1996), Hitler Youth leader (1940–1945) • Klaus Barbie (1913–1991), the "Butcher of Lyon" • Fedor von Bock (1880–1945), field marshal • Martin Bormann (1900–1945), Nazi leader • Eva Braun (1912–1945), Hitler's mistress and finally his wife • Wilhelm Canaris (1887–1945), admiral and chief of the Abwehr • Karl Dönitz (1891–1980), Admiral of the Fleet, briefly Hitler's successor as President • Anton Drexler (1884–1942), founder of German Workers' Party, which became the NSDAP • Adolf Eichmann (1906–1962), Nazi SS-Obersturmbannführer (lieutenant colonel) • Hans Frank (1900–1946), Governor-General of Poland • Roland Freisler (1893–1945), Nazi judge • Wilhelm Frick (1877–1946), Minister of the Interior • Walther Funk (1890–1960), Minister of Economics • Joseph Goebbels (1897–1945), Chancellor of Germany, propaganda chief for the Nazis • Hermann Göring (1893–1946), Nazi, Reich Marshal and chief of Luftwaffe • Rudolf Hess (1894–1987), Hitler's private secretary, later Deputy Führer • Reinhard Heydrich (1904–1942), Nazi officer, head of the Sicherheitsdienst and RSHA • Heinrich Himmler (1900–1945), Nazi head of the SS • Rudolf Höss (1901–1947), commandant of Auschwitz • Ernst Kaltenbrunner (1903–1946), Heydrich's successor at the RSHA • Hans Kammler (1901 – c. 1945), author and organiser of first Death Camps • Wilhelm Keitel (1882–1946), field marshal, head of the OKW (1939–1945) • Karl-Otto Koch (1897–1945), German first commandant of the Buchenwald concentration camp • Robert Ley (1890–1945), head of the German Labour Front • Erich von Manstein (1885–1973), field marshal and commander of the Eleventh Army (1941–1942), Army Group Don (1942–43), and Army Group South (1943–1944) • Josef Mengele (1911–1979), German SS officer and a physician in the Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz • Erhard Milch (1892–1972), Göring's second-in-command, Air Inspector General • Walter Model (1891–1945), field marshal • Heinrich Müller (1900–1945?), head of the Gestapo (1939–1945) • Konstantin von Neurath (1873–1956), Foreign Minister in the early years of the regime • Franz von Papen (1879–1969), Deputy Chancellor in Hitler's first cabinet • Erich Raeder (1876–1960), Admiral of the Fleet • Joachim von Ribbentrop (1893–1946), Nazi foreign minister • Ernst Röhm (1887–1934), first Stabschef of the SA • Erwin Rommel (1891–1944), Commander of the 7th Panzer Division and the Afrika Korps • Alfred Rosenberg (1893–1946), Nazi ideologist • Gerd von Rundstedt (1875–1953), field marshal, Commander-in-Chief East (1939–40), commander of Army Group South (1939–1941), Commander-in-Chief West (1942–1945) • Hjalmar Schacht, Minister of Finance • Baldur von Schirach (1907–1974), first Hitler Youth leader • Albert Speer (1905–1981), "Hitler's architect", Minister of Armaments • Gregor Strasser (1892–1934), left-wing Nazi leader • Julius Streicher (1885–1946), Nazi Party leader in Franconia ==Royalty==

• Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1819–1861), Queen Victoria's husband and consort • Albert, King of Saxony (1828–1902, reigned 1873-1902) • Alexandra Feodorovna (Alix of Hesse) (1872–1918), German princess by birth before marrying Tsar Nicholas II to become a Russian tsarina • Anne of Cleves (1515–1557), Queen of England from 6 January to 9 July 1540 as the fourth wife of King Henry VIII • Anton (1755–1836), King of Saxony (1827–1836) • Carol I of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen (1839–1914), Prince (1867–1881) and King (1881–1914) of Romania • Catherine the Great (1729–1796), Empress of Russia • Charles IV (1316–1378), King of Germany 1346, Holy Roman Emperor 1355–78 • Charles V (1500–1558), King of Spain 1516, King of Germany 1519, Holy Roman Emperor 1530–56 • Charles (1823–1891), King of Württemberg (1823–1891) • Claus von Amsberg (1926–2002), diplomat and husband of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands • Ferdinand of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen (1865–1927), King of Romania (1924–1927) • Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (1861–1948), Prince of Bulgaria (1887–1908), King (or Tsar) of the Bulgarians (1908–1918) • Frederick Barbarossa (1122–1190), King of Germany 1152, Holy Roman Emperor 1155–90 • Frederick I of Prussia (1657–1713), Elector of Brandenburg (1688–1713), King in Prussia (1701–1713) • Frederick I of Württemberg (1754–1816), Duke (1797–1803), Elector (1803–1806), and King (1806–1816) of Württemberg • Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor (1194–1250), Holy Roman Emperor and King of Jerusalem • Frederick the Great (Frederick II of Prussia, 1712–1786), King of Prussia (1740–1786) • Frederick III, German Emperor and King of Prussia (1831–1888, reigned 9 March - 15 June 1888) • Augustus II the Strong (1670–1733), Elector of Saxony (1694), King of Poland (1697–1733) • Frederick Augustus I (1750–1827), Elector (1763–1806) and King (1806–1827) of Saxony • Frederick Augustus II (1797–1854), King of Saxony (1836–1854) • Frederick Augustus III (1865–1932), King of Saxony (1904–1918) • Frederick William I (1688–1740), King of Prussia (1713–1740) • Frederick William II (1744–1797), King of Prussia (1786–1797) • Frederick William III (1770–1840), King of Prussia (1797–1840) • Frederick William IV (1795–1861), King of Prussia (1840–1861) • George (1832–1904), King of Saxony (1902–1904) • George V (1819–1878), King of Hanover (1851–1866) • Henry I the Fowler (876–936), King of Germany 919 • Henry II (972–1024), King of Germany 1002, Holy Roman Emperor 1014–24 • Henry III (1017–1056), King of Germany 1039, Holy Roman Emperor 1046–56 • Henry IV (1050–1106), King of Germany 1056, Holy Roman Emperor 1084–1106 • Henry V (1081–1125), King of Germany 1106, Holy Roman Emperor 1111–25 • Henry VI (1165–1197), King of Germany 1190, Holy Roman Emperor 1191–97 • John (1801–1873), King of Saxony (1854–1873) • Louis IV (1281–1347), King of Germany 1314, Holy Roman Emperor 1328–47 • Ludwig I (1786–1868), King of Bavaria (1825–1848) • Ludwig II (1845–1886), King of Bavaria (1864–1886) • Ludwig III (1845–1921), King of Bavaria (1913–1918) • Maximilian I (1459–1519), King of Germany 1486, Holy Roman Emperor 1508–19 • Maximilian I (1756–1825), Elector (1799–1805) and King (1805–1825) of Bavaria • Maximilian II (1811–1864), King of Bavaria (1848–1864) • Otto I the Great (912–973), King of Germany 936, Holy Roman Emperor 962–973 • Otto II (955–983), Holy Roman Emperor 973–983 • Otto III (980–1002), King of Germany 983, Holy Roman Emperor 996–1002 • Otto of Greece King of Bavaria (1815–1867), King of the Hellenes (1833–1862) • Otto of Bavaria (1848–1916), King of Bavaria (1886–1913) • Wilhelm I (1797–1888), German Emperor (1871–1888) and King of Prussia (1861–1888) • Wilhelm II (1859–1941), German Emperor and King of Prussia (1888–1918) • William I (1781–1864), King of Württemberg (1816–1864) • William II (1848–1921), King of Württemberg (1891–1918) ==Scientists and engineers==

A–G • Otto Wilhelm Hermann von Abich (1806–1886), mineralogist, geologist • Michael Albeck (born 1934), Israeli chemist; President of Bar-Ilan University • Alois Alzheimer (1864–1915), psychiatrist and neuropathologist • Peter Apian (1495–1552), mathematician, astronomer and cartographer • Manfred von Ardenne (1907–1997), physicist • Lykke Aresin (1921–2011), physician, sexologist and writer • Anton de Bary (1831–1888), surgeon, botanist, microbiologist • Johann Bayer (1572–1625), astronomer • Henning Behrens (born 1940), economist and political scientist • Georg Bednorz (born 1950), physicist Nobel Prize for Physics • Emil von Behring (1854–1917), physician • Karl Benz (1844–1929), inventor of the gasoline-powered automobile • Friedrich Bessel (1784–1846), mathematician • Hans Bethe (1906–2005), physicist • Hennig Brand (c. 1630 c.1692 or c. 1710), alchemist; discoverer of phosphorus • Max Born (1882–1970), physicist • Robert Bosch (1861–1942), industrialist • Carl F. W. Borgward (1890–1963), engineer • Karl Ferdinand Braun (1850–1918), physicist • Wernher von Braun (1912–1977), space engineer, rocket scientist • Eduard Buchner (1860–1917), biochemist; recipient 1907 Nobel Prize for Chemistry for the discovery of enzymes • Robert Wilhelm Bunsen (1811–1899), chemist • Alfred Buntru (1887–1974), hydraulic engineer and SS officer • Georg Cantor (1845–1918), mathematician • Conrad of Leonberg (1460–1511), humanist scholar • Nicolaus Copernicus (1473–1543), Prussian astronomer who wrote and spoke German; he is also often considered as a Pole • Hans Gerhard Creutzfeldt, neuropathologist • Adolf Daimler (1871–1913), mechanical engineer • Gottlieb Daimler (1834–1900), inventor and engineer • Gertrud Dorka (1893–1976), archaeologist, prehistorian and museum director • Carl Duisberg (1861–1935), chemist and industrialist • Rudolf Diesel (1858–1913), inventor of the Diesel engine • Paul Ehrlich (1854–1915), physician • Albert Einstein (1879–1955), physicist • Gerhard Ertl (born 1936), physicist • Hans Jürgen Eysenck (1916–1997), psychologist • Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit (1686–1736), physicist, engineer, and glass blower • Adolf Eugen Fick (1829–1901), inventor of contact lenses • Wolfgang Finkelnburg (1905–1967), physicist • Hermann Emil Fischer (1852–1919), chemist and 1902 recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry • Friederike Fless (born 1964), president of the German Archaeological Institute • Elvira Fölzer (1868–1928), early female archaeologist • Joseph von Fraunhofer (1787–1826), physicist • Gottlob Frege (1848–1925), mathematician and logicist • Wilhelm Siegmund Frei (1885–1943), dermatologist • Erich Fromm (1900–1980), psychologist • Klaus Fuchs (1911–1988), physicist and spy • Hans Geiger (1882–1945), physicist • Carl Friedrich Gauss (1777–1855), mathematician • Otto von Guericke (1602–1682), scientist • Johannes Gutenberg (1398–1468), inventor of modern bookprinting H–J • Fritz Haber (1868–1934), chemist • Ernst Haeckel (1834–1919), physician • Otto Hahn (1879–1968), chemist • Theodor W. Hänsch (born 1941), physicist • Bernhard Hantzsch (1875–1911), ornithologist • Georg Hartmann (1865–1946), geographer • Felix Hausdorff (1868–1942), mathematician • Robert Havemann (1910–1982), chemist • Ernst Heinkel (1888–1958), aircraft engineer • Werner Karl Heisenberg (1901–1976), physicist • Hermann Helmholtz (1821–1894), physicist • Heinrich Rudolf Hertz (1857–1894), physicist • Johannes Hevelius (1611–1687), astronomer • David Hilbert (1862–1943), mathematician • Magnus Hirschfeld (1868–1935), physician, sexologist, founder of the first ever committee for LGBTQ+ rights • Johann Homann (1664–1724), geographer • Erich Hueckel (1896–1980), physicist • Alexander von Humboldt (1769–1859), explorer • Carl Gustav Jacob Jacobi (1804–1851), mathematician • Alfons Maria Jakob (1884–1931), neurologist • Hugo Junkers (1859–1935), aircraft engineer K–L • Theodor Kaluza (1885–1954), mathematician, theoretical physicist • Friedrich August Kekulé von Stradonitz (1829–1896), chemist • Johannes Kepler (1571–1630), astronomer • Gustav Robert Kirchhoff (1824–1887), physicist • Martin Heinrich Klaproth (1743–1817), chemist • Felix Klein (1849–1925), mathematician • Klaus von Klitzing (born 1943), physicist, Nobel Prize in Physics • Wolfgang Franz von Kobell (1803–1882), mineralogist • Robert Koch (1843–1910), physician • Walter Karl Koch (1880–1962), surgeon • Adolph Wilhelm Hermann Kolbe (1818–1884), chemist • Leopold Kronecker (1823–1891), mathematician • Ernst Eduard Kummer (1810–1893), mathematician • Edmund Landau (1877–1938), mathematician • Hermann Lattemann (1852–1894), balloon pilot and parachutist • Max von Laue (1879–1960), physicist • Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1646–1716), mathematician • Philipp Eduard Anton von Lenard (1862–1947), physicist • Rudolph Lennhoff (1866–1933), public health doctor • August Leskien (1840–1916), linguist • Justus von Liebig (1803–1873), chemist • Otto Lilienthal (1848–1896), aviation pioneer • Ferdinand von Lindemann (1852–1939), mathematician • Alexander Lippisch (1894–1976), aerodynamicist • Friedrich Loeffler (1852–1915), bacteriologist • Johann Josef Loschmidt (1821–1895), physicist, chemist • Cornelia Lüdecke (born 1954), polar researcher, historian • Reimar Lüst (1923–2020), astrophysicist M–R • (Albertus Magnus see "A") • Ludwig Immanuel Magnus, mathematician • Siegfried Marcus (1831–1898), automobile pioneer • Wilhelm Maybach (1846–1929), car-engine and automobile constructor • Wilhelm Messerschmitt (1898–1978), aircraft engineer • Lothar Meyer (1830–1895), chemist • Franz Mertens (1840–1927), mathematician • August Ferdinand Möbius (1790–1868), mathematician, theoretical astronomer • Ralph Bernstein (born 1933), engineer • Johannes Müller (1801–1858), physiologist • Walther Nernst (1864–1941), physicist • Carl Gottfried Neumann (1832–1925), mathematician • Franz Ernst Neumann (1798–1895), mathematician • Markolf Niemz (born 1964), physicist, biophysicist, and author • Claus Noé (1938–2008), economist • Emmy Noether (1882–1935), mathematician • Georg Ohm (1789–1854), physicist • Wilhelm Ostwald, chemist; recipient 1909 Nobel Prize in Chemistry • Nicolaus Otto (1832–1891), coinventor of the Otto cycle • Bernhard Philberth (1927–2010), physicist, engineer, philosopher, theologian • Lily Pincus (1898–1981), social worker, marital psychotherapist and author • Max Planck (1858–1947), physicist • Jesco von Puttkamer (1933–2012), space scientist (NASA manager), engineer and author • Bernhard Riemann (1826–1866), mathematician • Adam Ries (1492–1559), mathematician • Wilhelm Röntgen (1845–1923), physicist; inventor of x-rays S–V • Carl Wilhelm Scheele (1742–1786), chemist • Matthias Jakob Schleiden (1804–1881), botanist • Heinrich Schliemann (1822–1890), archaeologist • Christian Friedrich Schonbein (1799–1868), chemist • Friedrich Hermann Schottky (1851–1935), mathematician • Theodor Schwann (1810–1882), physiologist • Hermann Amandus Schwarz (1843–1921), mathematician • Karl Schwarzschild (1873–1916), physicist • Ernst Stromer (1871–1952), Paleontologist • Carl Semper (1832–1893), ecologist • Cynthia Sharma (born 1979), infectious disease researcher, biologist • Werner von Siemens (1816–1892), inventor, industrialist • Rolf Singer (1906–1994), mycologist • Arnold Sommerfeld (1868–1951), physicist • Eduard Adolf Strasburger (1844–1912), German-Polish professor; one of the most famous botanists of the 19th century • Georg Steller (1709–1746), naturalist • William Stern (1871–1938), psychologist, philosopher • Alfred Stock (1876–1946), chemist • Levi Strauss (1829–1902), jeans • Emmy Mercedes Todtmann (1888–1973), glacial geologist • Max Vasmer (1886–1962), linguist • Rudolf Virchow (1821–1902), pioneer of medicine W–Z • Otto Wallach, physicist • Hellmuth Walter (1900–1980), propulsion • Felix Wankel (1902–1988), inventor of the Wankel engine • Alfred Wegener (1880–1930), geologist, meteorologist • Karl Weierstrass (1815–1897), mathematician • August Weismann (1834–1914), biologist • Carl Friedrich von Weizsäcker (1912–2007), physicist • Hermann Weyl (1885–1955), mathematician • Maximilian zu Wied-Neuwied (1782–1867), zoologist • Wilhelm Wien (1864–1928), physicist • Heinrich Wohlwill (1874–1943), electrical engineer • Mieczysław Wolfke (1883–1947), Polish physicist of German descent • Wilhelm Wundt (1832–1920), physiologist, psychologist • Christian Zeller (1822–1899, Rektor), mathematician • Ferdinand von Zeppelin (1838–1917), inventor of the Zeppelin, founded the Zeppelin Airship company • Ernst Zermelo (1871–1953), mathematician • Konrad Zuse (1910–1995), computer pioneer ==Sportspeople==

A–G • Franziska van Almsick (born 1978), swimmer • Adolf Anderssen (1818–1879), chess grandmaster • Tobias Arlt (born 1987), luger • Rudi Ball (1911–1975), Hall of Fame ice hockey player, Olympic bronze 1932, World runner-up 1930, bronze 1934 • Michael Ballack (born 1976), football player • Karin Balzer (1938–2019), hurdler • Marcel Barthel (born 1990), professional wrestler • Dieter Baumann (born 1965), athlete • Franz Beckenbauer (1945–2024), football player • Boris Becker (born 1967), tennis player • Ludger Beerbaum (born 1963), equestrian; four-time Olympic Gold medalist • Elly Beinhorn (1907–2007), aviator • Valery Belenky (born 1969), Soviet/Azerbaijan/German Olympic gymnastics champion (team combined exercises), bronze (individual combined exercises) • Isaac Bonga, NBA player • Stefan Bellof (1957–1985), race car driver • Gretel Bergmann (1914–2017), internationally renowned high jumper of the 1930s was excluded from the 1936 Olympic team due to being Jewish. • Frank Biela (born 1964), race car driver • Oliver Bierhoff (born 1968), football player • Jérôme Boateng (born 1988), football player • Timo Boll, table tennis player • Kathrin Boron (born 1969), scmomuller; four-time Olympic gold medallist • Daryl Boyle (born 1987), ice hockey player for Germany • Andreas Brehme (born 1960), football player and coach • Paul Breitner (born 1951), football player • Kai Budde (1979–2026), professional Magic: The Gathering player • Bettina Bunge (born 1963), tennis player • Rudolf Caracciola (1901–1959), race car driver • Rolf Decker, German-born American, football midfielder (US national team) • Uschi Disl (born 1970), biathlete • Leon Draisaitl (born 1995), ice hockey player • Heike Drechsler (born 1964), athlete • Mathew Dumba (born 1994), ice hockey player • Stefan Effenberg (born 1968), football player • Christian Ehrhoff (born 1982), Olympian and National Hockey League hockey player; plays for the Buffalo Sabres • David Elsner (born 1992), ice hockey forward • Erich Gottlieb Eliskases (1913–1997), leading chess player of the 1930s–40s, represented Austria, Germany and Argentina in international competition • Kornelia Ender (born 1958), swimmer; became the first woman swimmer to win four gold medals at a single Olympic Games (in 1976), all in world record times • Karin Enke (born 1961), speed skater; one of the most dominant of the 1980s • Jürgen Fanghänel (born 1951), boxer • Rudi Fink (born 1958), boxer • Birgit Fischer (born 1962), kayaker • Sven Fischer (born 1971), biathlete • Theodor Fischer, Olympic épée and foil fencer • Alfred Flatow (1869–1942), gymnast, three-time Olympic champion (parallel bars, team parallel bars, team horizontal bar), silver (horizontal bar) • Gustav Felix Flatow (1875–1945), two-time Olympic champion (team parallel bars, team horizontal bar) • Heinz-Harald Frentzen (born 1967), racing driver • Torsten Frings (born 1976), football player • Gottfried Fuchs (1889–1972), Olympic football player • Erika Geisen, IFBB professional bodybuilder • Natalie Geisenberger (born 1988), luger • Timo Glock (born 1982), racing driver • Marcel Goc, German Olympian and NHL hockey player; plays for the Nashville Predators • Harold Goldsmith, born Hans Goldschmidt (1930–2004), American Olympic foil and épée fencer • Mario Gómez (born 1985), football player • Steffi Graf (born 1969), tennis player • Michael Greis (born 1976), biathlete • Michael Gross (born 1964), swimmer • Ricco Groß (born 1970), biathlete • Jan Gustafsson (born 1979), chess grandmaster and Janistan head of state • Ludwig Guttmann (1899–1980), founder of the Paralympics H–M • Tommy Haas (born 1978), tennis player • Georg Hackl (born 1966), luger • Hans Halberstadt (1885–1966), German-born American Olympic fencer • Dietmar Hamann (born 1973), football player • Sven Hannawald (born 1974), ski jumper • Armin Hary (born 1937), athlete • Thomas Häßler (born 1966), football player • Nico Hülkenberg (born 1987), racing driver • Nick Heidfeld (born 1977), racing driver • Lilli Henoch (1899–1942), world records in discus, shot put, and 4x100-m relay; shot by the Nazis in Latvia • Jupp Heynckes (born 1945), retired footballer and current manager of FC Bayern Munich • Julius Hirsch (1892–1945), Olympian football player and first Jewish member of the national team, two-time Germany team champion, awarded the Iron Cross during World War I, murdered in Auschwitz concentration camp. • Ottmar Hitzfeld (born 1949), football player and manager • Leah Horowitz (1933–1956), Israeli Olympic hurdler • Mats Hummels (born 1988), football player • Peter Hussing (1948–2012), boxer • Robert Hübner (1948–2025), chess grandmaster • Reinhold Joest (born 1937), race car driver and racing team owner • Klaus Junge (1924–1945), one of the youngest German chess grandmasters • Enriko Kehl (born 1992), muay thai kickboxing • Oliver Kahn (born 1969), football player • Andy Kapp (born 1967), curler • Dirk Käsebier (born 1966), boxer • Fritz Keller (born 1957), football administrator • Udo Kiessling (born 1955), first ice hockey player to compete at five Olympics • Herbert Klein (1923–2001), Olympic bronze (200-m breaststroke); three world records • Ralph Klein (1931–2008), Berlin-born Israeli basketball player and coach • Jutta Kleinschmidt, rally driver • Reiner Klimke (1936–1999), equestrian; won six gold and two bronze medals in dressage at the Summer Olympics • Jürgen Klinsmann (born 1964), football player and manager • Jürgen Klopp (born 1967), football player and then manager • Miroslav Klose (born 1978), football player • Georg Koch (1972–2026), football player • Marita Koch (born 1957), sprint track and field athlete who collected 30 world records • Olaf Kölzig (born 1970), German Olympian and National Hockey League goalie; plays for the Tampa Bay Lightning • Andreas Köpke (born 1962), football player (goalkeeper) • Louis Krages (1949–2001), racing driver who raced under the pseudonym of "John Winter" • Ingrid Krämer (born 1943), diver and Olympic champion • Toni Kroos (born 1990), football player • Uwe Krupp (born 1965), ice hockey player and coach; won the Stanley Cup and played in an NHL All-Star Game • Erich Kühnhackl (born 1950), ice hockey player; named Germany's ice hockey player of the 20th century and member of the IIHF Hall of Fame • Kevin Kuske (born 1979), bobsledder; most successful Olympic athlete in bobsledding, winning four gold medals and two silver medals • Philipp Lahm (born 1983), football player • André Lange, bobsledding champion • Hermann Lang (1909–1987), champion race car driver • Bernhard Langer (born 1957), golfer • Henry Laskau (1916–2000), racewalker; won 42 national titles; Pan American Games champion; four-time Maccabiah champion • Emanuel Lasker (1868–1941), the second World Chess Champion (1894–1921) • Jens Lehmann (born 1969), football player (goalkeeper) • Ellen Lohr, racing driver • Joachim Löw (born 1960), football player and manager of Germany • Klaus Ludwig, racing driver • Marion Lüttge (born 1941), javelin thrower • Brooks Macek (born 1992), ice hockey player for Germany • Felix Magath (born 1953), football player and manager • Sepp Maier (born 1944), football player • Jan Martín (born 1984), German-Israeli-Spanish basketball player • Henry Maske (born 1964), boxer • Jochen Mass, racing driver • Lothar Matthäus (born 1961), football player • Roland Matthes (1950–2019), swimmer and the most successful backstroke swimmer of all times • Helene Mayer (1910–1953), foil fencer, Olympic champion • Georg Meier (1910–1999), motorcycle racer • Yona Melnik (born 1949), Israeli Olympic judoka • Markus Merk (born 1962), top-level football referee • Christoph Metzelder (born 1980), football player • Ulrike Meyfarth (born 1956), high jumper • Rosi Mittermaier (1950–2023), alpine ski champion • Andreas Möller (born 1967), football player • Gerd Müller (1945–2021), football player • Jörg Müller (born 1969), race car driver • Petra Müller (born 1965), athlete • Thomas Müller (born 1989), football player N–R • Patricia Neske (born 1966), figure skater • Günter Netzer (born 1944), football player • Manuel Neuer (born 1986), football player (goalkeeper) • Gunda Niemann-Stirnemann (born 1966), speed skater • Aron Nimzowitsch (1886–1935), Latvian-Danish German chess master and chess writer • Dirk Nowitzki (born 1978), National Basketball Association player • Ralf Schumacher (born 1975), racing driver; brother of Michael Schumacher • Dennis Schröder, NBA player • Michael Stich (born 1968), tennis player • Rolf Stommelen (1943–1983), racing driver • Hans Stuck (1900–1978), racing driver • Hans-Joachim Stuck, racing driver and son of Hans • Marco Sturm (born 1978), ice hockey player and coach; one-time NHL All-Star (1999) • Siegbert Tarrasch (1862–1934), chess grandmaster • Joseph Taussig (1877–1947), German-born American football quarterback • Axel Teichmann (born 1979), cross-country skier • Richard Teichmann (1868–1925), leading German chess player, easily of grandmaster strength • Axel Tischer (born 1986), professional wrestler • Toni Turek (1919–1984), football player • Jan Ullrich (born 1973), cyclist • Wolfgang Unzicker (1925–2006), chess grandmaster • Nicole Uphoff (born 1967), equestrian • Sebastian Vettel, Formula One driver (four-time World Champion) • Berti Vogts, football player and manager • Johannes Voigtmann (born 1992), basketball player • Rudi Völler (born 1960), football player • Sebastian Vollmer (born 1984), American football player, first German NFL draft pick; plays for the New England Patriots • Katrin Wagner-Augustin (born 1977), sprint canoer • Ralf Waldmann, motorcycle racer • Fritz Walter (1920–2002), football player • Fritz Walter (born 1960), football player • Ulrich Wehling (born 1952), won the nordic combined event in the Winter Olympics three consecutive times, in 1972, 1976, and 1980 • Jens Weißflog (born 1964), ski jumper • Tobias Wendl (born 1987), luger • Moritz Wagner, NBA player for the Los Angeles Lakers • Isabell Werth (born 1969), equestrian and world champion in dressage; holds the record for the most Olympic medals won by any equestrian athlete • Kati Wilhelm (born 1976), biathlete • Joachim Winkelhock, racing driver • Manfred Winkelhock (1951–1985), racing driver; brother of Joachim Winkelhock • Hans Günter Winkler (1926–2018), show jumping rider • Katarina Witt (born 1965), figure skater • Bärbel Wöckel (born 1955), sprinter • Sigrun Wodars (born 1965), athlete • Jenny Wolf (born 1979), speed skater • Erik Zabel (born 1970), cyclist • Christian Ziege (born 1972), football player and manager • Johannes Zukertort (1842–1888), German Polish-Jewish chessmaster ==Theologians, saints and beatified persons==

• Heinrich Abeken (1809–1872), theologian • Johannes Agricola (1494–1566), Protestant reformer • Albertus Magnus, medieval philosopher and theologian • Eusebius Amort (1692–1775) • Pope Benedict XVI (also known as Joseph Ratzinger) (1927–2022) • Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906–1945), theologian • Johannes Bugenhagen (1485–1558), Protestant reformer of Pomerania and Denmark; theologian • Rudolf Bultmann (1884–1976) • Pope Clement II (1005–1047) • Pope Damasus II (?–1048) • Alfred Delp (1907–1945) • Eugen Drewermann (born 1940) • Johann Eck (1486–1543) • Anne Catherine Emmerich (1774–1824) • Matthias Faber (1586–1653) • Pope Gregory V (c. 972–999) • Adolf Harnack (1851–1930) • Hedwig of Andech (1174–1243) • Johann Gottfried Herder, poet, translator, philosopher and theologian • Dietrich von Hildebrand (1889–1977) • Clemens August Graf von Galen, beatified, cardinal • Thomas à Kempis (c. 1380 – 1471), canon regular • Adolph Kolping (1813–1865), beatified, priest • Hans Küng (1928–2021) • Karl Lehmann (1936–2018) • Pope Leo IX (1002–1054) • Martin Luther (1483–1546), Protestant Reformation • Philipp Melanchthon (1497–1560), Protestant Reformation • Moses Mendelssohn (1729–1786) • Jürgen Moltmann (1926–2024), theologian • Bernhard Philberth (1927–2010), physicist, engineer, philosopher, theologian • Karl Rahner (1904–1989), theologian • Friedrich Schleiermacher (1768–1834), theologian, philosopher • Albert Schweitzer (1875–1965), musician, physician, pastor, philosopher and theologian • Dorothee Sölle (1929–2003) • Edith Stein (1891–1942), saint, nun, victim of the Holocaust • Johann Tetzel (1465–1519), monk • Carsten Peter Thiede (1952–2004), theologian, New Testament historian, chaplain • Helmut Thielicke (1908–1986), theologian • Paul Tillich (1886–1965), theologian, philosopher • Pope Victor II (c. 1018 – 1057) ==Militants==

• Sophie Scholl (1921–1943), member of the German resistance in World War II • Linda Wenzel, ISIS bride ==Others==

• Thomas Kretschmann, actor • Katja von der Bey, art historian, feminist • Thomas Bach (born 1953), lawyer, former fencer • Franz Borkenau (1900–1957), social scientist • Gottfried Gabriel Bredow (1773–1814), historian • Moritz Brosch (1829–1907), historian • Dieter Claessens (1921–1997), sociologist • Ursula Cotta (1450–1511), benefactor • Thomas Druyen (born 1957), sociologist • Shlomo Eckstein (1929–2020), Israeli economist and president of Bar-Ilan University • Gudrun Ensslin (1940–1977), terrorist • Michael Fassbender (born 1977), actor • Siegfried Fischbacher (1939–2021), magician, conservationist • Reinhard Furrer (1940–1995), astronaut • Andreas Gaill (1526–1587), jurist • Margarete Gütschow (1871–1951), archaeologist • Herschel Grynszpan (1921–1944), Polish-Jewish refugee turned assassin • Kerstin Günther (born 1967), business executive • Johann Gutenberg (c. 1390s – 1468), printer • Hildegard von Bingen (1098–1179), abbess, mystic • Roy Horn (1944–2020), magician, conservationist • Karen Horney (1885–1952), psychoanalyst • Heribert Illig (born 1947), historian • Peter Hoffmann (1930–2023), awarded outstanding historian • Sigmund Jähn (1937–2019), first German in space • Bruno Kahl (born 1962), intelligence administrative lawyer • Erhart Kirfel, businessman, finance controller of the SPD • Henry Kissinger (1923–2023), German-American diplomat who served as the 56th United States Secretary of State under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford • René König (1906–1992), sociologist • Siegfried Kracauer (1889–1966), writer, journalist, sociologist, cultural critic, and film theorist • Christoph Koncz (born 1987), violist, conductor • Mahide Lein (born 1949), LGBTQ+ activist • Christian Frederick Martin (1796–1867), inventor of the steel-string guitar • Ulrike Meinhof (1934–1976), journalist and terrorist • Ulf Merbold (born 1941), astronaut • Cläre Mjøen (1874–1963), translator, women's rights activist and eugenicist • Karl Neumeyer (1869–1941), Jewish jurist • Carl von Ossietzky (1889–1938), journalist and pacifist • Ferdinand Porsche (1875–1951), designer and founder of Porsche • Ferry Porsche (1909–1998), automobile designer and son of Ferdinand Porsche • Ferdinand Alexander Porsche (1935–2012), designer and member of the Porsche family • Ludwig Quidde (1858–1941), historian and pacifist • Leopold von Ranke (1795–1886), historian • Paul Reuter (1816–1899), entrepreneur, pioneer of telegraphy and news reporting • Dora Richter (1892–1966), first known woman to undergo sex reassignment surgery • Margarete Rosenberg (1910–1985), lesbian Holocaust survivor • Mathias Rust (born 1968), aviator who landed on Moscow's Red Square in 1987 • Ruth Rissing-van Saan (born 1946), lawyer and chair judge • Helmut Schelsky (1912–1984), sociologist • Oskar Schindler (1908–1974), industrialist; credited with saving the lives of 1,200 Jews during the Holocaust • Hannelore Schmatz (1940–1979), mountaineer • Heffa Schücking, environmentalist • Albert Schweitzer (1875–1965), physician, humanitarian • Henry Shultz (1776–1851), emigrant to the United States, entrepreneur • Guy Spier (born 1966), author and investor • Pauline Staegemann (1838–1909), socialist, feminist and trade unionist • Claus von Stauffenberg (1907–1944), Operation Valkyrie • Ilse Totzke (1913–1987), Holocaust survivor • Frederick Trump (1869–1918), businessman, patriarch of the Trump family • Hans-Hasso von Veltheim (1885–1956) Indologist, Anthroposophist • Dorothea Juliana Wallich (1657–1725), alchemist • Ulrich Walter (born 1954), astronaut • Alfred Weber (1868–1958), sociologist • Max Weber (1864–1920), sociologist • Diedrich Hermann Westermann (1875–1956), linguist • Ruth Westheimer (1928–2024), German-American sex therapist, talk show host, author, Doctor of Education, Holocaust survivor, and former Haganah sniper. • William the Silent (1533–1584), German-born main leader of the Dutch revolt against the Spanish Habsburgs • Johann Joachim Winckelmann (1717–1768), art historian and archaeologist • Karl Witte (1800–1883), jurist and scholar of Dante Alighieri • Friedrich Heinrich Zinckgraf (1878–1954), gallery owner ==More lists of Germans==