List of Germans

{{Short description|None}} {{dynamic list|date=July 2014}} {{Use dmy dates|date=August 2021}} This is a list of notable Germans. Persons of mixed heritage have their respective ancestries credited.

== Architects == {{main|List of German architects}} [[File:WalterGropius-1919.jpg|thumb|226x226px|Walter Gropius]] * 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 == {{main|List of German artists}} {{see also|List of German architects|List of German painters}} [[File:Johann Gottlieb Hantzsch - Häusliche Szene, 1831.jpg|thumb|right|160px|''Häusliche Szene'' by Johann Gottlieb Hantzsch, 1831]]

[[File:HorstJanssenPorträt.jpg|thumb|Horst Janssen, 1968]]

=== A–M === {{div col|colwidth=20em}} * 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 {{div col end}}

=== N–Z === {{div col|colwidth=20em}} * 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 {{div col end}}

== Company founders == {{main|List of German entrepreneurs}}

[[File:Geheimrat Friedrich Alfred Krupp c. 1902.jpg|thumb|218x218px|Friedrich Alfred Krupp]]

===A–M=== {{div col|colwidth=30em}} * Karl Albrecht (1920–2014) and Theo Albrecht (1922–2010), founder of Aldi * Ludwig Bamberger (1823–1899), co-founder of Deutsche Bank<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.db.com/company/en/history.htm|title=History – Deutsche Bank|work=db.com|access-date=16 June 2019}}</ref> * 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<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.mercedes-benz.com/en/mercedes-benz/classic/history/carl-benz/|title=Mercedes Benz: Karl Benz|work=mercedes-benz.com|access-date=26 May 2019}}</ref> * 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<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.daimler.com/company/tradition/mercedes-benz/history.html|title=The story of the Mercedes star|work=daimler.com|access-date=16 June 2019}}</ref> * Adolf Dassler (1900–1978), founder of sportswear company Adidas<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.adidas-group.com/en/group/history/|title=Adidas – History|work=adidasgroup.com|access-date=13 June 2019|archive-date=17 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180817080104/https://www.adidas-group.com/en/group/history/|url-status=dead}}</ref> * 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<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.audi.com/en/company/history.html|title=Eventful and varied: the history of Audi AG|work=audi.com|access-date=13 June 2019}}</ref> * 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 {{div col end}} [[File:Paul Emil Gabel - Dr August Oetker.jpg|thumb|194x194px|Dr. August Oetker]] [[File:August Thyssen, Captain-General of German industry.jpg|thumb|228x228px|August Thyssen]]

===N–Z=== {{div col|colwidth=30em}} * 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<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://newsroom.porsche.com/en/company/porsche-1931-1951-history-study-book-design-office-ferdinand-porsche-14144.html|title=The history of the Porsche engineering office|work=newsroom.porsche.com|access-date=13 June 2019}}</ref> * 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<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.bmwdrives.com/bmw-history.php|title=BMW History in Detail|work=bmwdrives.com|access-date=28 July 2019}}</ref> * 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 {{div col end}} [[File:Heidi Klum by Glenn Francis.jpg|thumb|240x240px|Heidi Klum]]

==Fashion models== {{div col|colwidth=30em}} * 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''<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://fivmagazine.com/lena-gercke-allround-talent/|title=Lena Gercke – Allround Talent – Fiv Magazine|work=fivmagazine.com|access-date=28 July 2019}}</ref> * Stefanie Giesinger (born 1996), model<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://fivmagazine.com/an-idol-for-all-stefanie-giesinger/|title=Stefanie Giesinger – An idol for all|work=fivmagazine.com|access-date=28 July 2019}}</ref> * 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''<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/print/d-84162333.html|title=Isch geh als isch|work=spiegel.de|access-date=27 July 2019}}</ref> * 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) {{div col end}} [[File:Karl Lagerfeld Cannes.jpg|thumb|235x235px|Karl Lagerfeld]]

== Fashionmakers == {{see also|List of German fashion designers}} * 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=== {{Main|List of German actors}}

{{see also|List of former child actors from Germany|List of current child actors from Germany|List of German-speaking Academy Award winners and nominees}}

====A–M==== {{div col|colwidth=30em}} * 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<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/2017/02/05/513311586/from-post-war-germany-to-hollywood-a-soap-star-dishes-on-his-journey|title=From Postwar Germany to Hollywood, A Soap Star dishes on his Journey|work=npr.org|access-date=5 February 2017}}</ref> * 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<ref>{{Cite news|url= https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/features/zazie-beetz-interview-atlanta-season-2-robbin-german-deadpool-easy-a8421051.html|title=Zazie Beetz interview: 'My German identity is really important to me'|work=independent.co.uk|access-date=28 June 2018}}</ref> * Hans Clarin (1930–2005), actor * August Diehl (born 1976), actor * Marlene Dietrich (1901–1992), actress<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/nov/26/marlene-dietrich-androgyny-sexuality-exhibitions|title=Still modern after all these years, Marlene Dietrich's ageless charisma|work=theguardian.com|access-date=27 July 2019}}</ref> * 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<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2017/12/why-a-german-language-role-could-be-a-game-changer-for-diane-kruger|title=Why a German-Language role could be a game changer for Diane Kruger|work=vanityfair.com|access-date=5 December 2017}}</ref> * 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 {{div col end}}

====N–Z==== {{div col|colwidth=30em}} * 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 {{div col end}} [[File:Werner Herzog Venice Film Festival 2009.jpg|thumb|209x209px|Werner Herzog]]

===Filmmakers=== {{div col|colwidth=30em}} {{see also|List of German film directors}} * 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 {{div col end}}

==Literature== [[File:Goethe (Stieler 1828).jpg|thumb|160px|Johann Wolfgang von Goethe]] [[File:Friedrich Schiller by Ludovike Simanowiz.jpg|thumb|160px|Friedrich Schiller]] [[File:Gotthold Ephraim Lessing.PNG|thumb|160px|Gotthold Lessing]] [[File:Hermann Hesse 1925 Photo Gret Widmann.jpeg|thumb|160px|Hermann Hesse]] [[File:Thomas Mann 1937.jpg|thumb|160px|Thomas Mann]] [[File:Günter Grass, 2004.jpg|thumb|160px|Günter Grass]] {{See also|List of German journalists|List of German-language authors|List of German-language philosophers|List of German-language playwrights|List of German-language poets}}

===Classic=== {{div col|colwidth=30em}} * 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 {{div col end}}

===Major=== {{div col|colwidth=30em}} * 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 {{div col end}}

===Contemporary=== {{div col|colwidth=30em}} * 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 {{div col end}}

== Humorists, cabaret performers and comedians == {{main|List of German 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 == {{main|List of German 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 == {{see also|List of German mathematicians}} [[File:Georg Cantor2.jpg|thumb|160px|Georg Cantor]] [[File:Carl Friedrich Gauss 1840 by Jensen.jpg|thumb|160px|Carl Friedrich Gauss]] [[File:Georg Simon Ohm3.jpg|thumb|160px| Georg Ohm]] * 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 [[File:General Erich Ludendorff.JPG|thumb|240x240px|Erich Ludendorff]]

==Military== {{div col|colwidth=30em}} * 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) {{div col end}}

==Music== ===Composers=== {{see also|List of German composers}} [[File:Hans Zimmer crop.jpg|thumb|upright|Hans Zimmer]] [[File:Joseph Karl Stieler's Beethoven mit dem Manuskript der Missa solemnis.jpg|thumb|upright|Ludwig van Beethoven]] {{div col|colwidth=30em}} * 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<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.historytoday.com/richard-cavendish/birth-mozart |title=The Birth of Mozart |magazine=History Today |date=1 January 2006}}</ref> * 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'') {{div col end}}

===Conductors, instrumentalists and singers=== {{see also|List of German musicians}} [[File:Lena Johanna Therese Meyer-Landrut.jpg|thumb|226x226px|Lena Meyer-Landrut]] [[File:Udo-Lindenberg-13-01-11-hinterm-horizont-muiscal.jpg|thumb|203x203px|Udo Lindenberg]]

====A–M==== {{div col|colwidth=30em}} * 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 {{div col end}} [[File:Sido - Global Citizen Festival Hamburg 04.jpg|thumb|192x192px|Sido]]

====N–Z==== {{div col|colwidth=30em}} * 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 {{div col end}}

==Philosophy== {{See also|List of German-language philosophers}} [[File:Immanuel Kant 3.jpg|thumb|220x220px|Immanuel Kant]]

===Classic=== {{div col|colwidth=30em}} * 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 {{div col end}} [[File:Erich Fromm 1974.jpg|thumb|160x160px|Erich Fromm]]

===Major=== {{div col|colwidth=30em}} * 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 {{div col end}}

===Contemporary=== {{div col|colwidth=30em}} * 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 {{div col end}}

==Politicians== {{see also|List of German politicians}} [[File:12-03-06-cebit-eroeffnung-angela-merkel-21.jpg|thumb|224x224px|Angela Merkel]] [[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 102-12940, Ernst Thälmann.jpg|thumb|238x238px|Ernst Thälmann]]

===Miscellaneous=== {{div col|colwidth=30em}} * 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 {{div col end}} [[File:Gustav Stresemann 2.jpg|thumb|226x226px|Gustav Stresemann]]

===Chancellors of Germany 1871–1945=== {{div col|colwidth=30em}} * 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) thumb|right|200px|Photo of Chancellor Bismarck in the 1880s * 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) {{div col end}} [[File:Konrad Adenauer - 7. CDU-Bundesparteitag-kasf0031.JPG|thumb|220x220px|Konrad Adenauer]]

===Chancellors of Germany (after World War II)=== ''(in chronological order)'' {{div col|colwidth=30em}} * 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) {{div col end}} [[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 146-1983-098-20a, Heuss.jpg|thumb|203x203px|Theodor Heuss]]

===Presidents of Germany=== ''(in chronological order)'' {{div col|colwidth=30em}} * 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 {{div col end}}

Presidents of the Federal Republic of Germany since 1949:<br /> ''(in chronological order)'' {{div col|colwidth=30em}} * 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) {{div col end}} [[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-R1220-401, Erich Honecker.jpg|thumb|203x203px|Erich Honecker]]

===Politicians of the East German Communist Party and regime=== {{div col|colwidth=30em}} * 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 {{div col end}} [[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 146-1968-101-20A, Joseph Goebbels.jpg|thumb|224x224px|Joseph Goebbels]]

===Personalities of the Nazi Party and regime=== [[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-S33882, Adolf Hitler retouched.jpg|thumb|right|220x220px|Adolf Hitler]] {{div col|colwidth=30em}} * 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 {{div col end}} [[File:Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany.jpg|thumb|239x239px|Wilhelm II]] [[File:Frederick II of Prussia Coloured drawing.png|thumb|223x223px|Frederick the Great]]

==Royalty== {{div col|colwidth=30em}} {{see also|List of German monarchs}} * 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) {{div col end}}

==Scientists and engineers== {{see also|List of German scientists|List of German chemists|List of German physicists}}

===A–G=== [[Image:Wernher von Braun.jpg|thumb|160px|Wernher von Braun]] thumb|160px|Nicolaus Copernicus, Tornaeus Borussus Mathematicus (N.C., Prussian mathematician from Thorn/Torun). Copper engraving from 1597 [[Image:Einstein 1921 by F Schmutzer - restoration.jpg|thumb|160px|Albert Einstein]] {{div col|colwidth=30em}} * 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{{spaced ndash}} 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 {{div col end}}

===H–J=== [[File:Portret van Professor Fritz Haber, een chemicus uit Duitsland (foto 1918- 1934), SFA002023057.jpg|thumb|160px|Fritz Haber]] {{div col|colwidth=30em}} * 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 {{div col end}}

===K–L=== {{div col|colwidth=30em}} * 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 {{div col end}}

===M–R=== {{div col|colwidth=30em}} * (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 {{div col end}} [[File:Werner von Siemens (1816-1892), ca. 1850.jpg|thumb|238x238px|Werner von Siemens]]

===S–V=== {{div col|colwidth=30em}} * 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 {{div col end}}

===W–Z=== {{div col|colwidth=30em}} * 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 {{div col end}}

==Sportspeople== {{see also|List of German bodybuilders|List of Germany men's international footballers|List of Germany international footballers 1908–1942|List of Germany women's international footballers|List of Germany national rugby union players}} [[File:Boris Becker.jpg|thumb|120px|Boris Becker]] [[File:Franz Beckenbauer 2006 06 17.jpg|thumb|120px|Franz Beckenbauer]] [[File:Marcel Goc Predators.png|thumb|120px|Marcel Goc]] [[File:Steffi Graf für Rexona.jpg|thumb|120px|Steffi Graf]] [[File:Austria vs. USA 2013-11-19 (066).jpg|thumb|120px|Jürgen Klinsmann]] [[File:Helene Mayer 1928.jpg|thumb|120px|Helene Mayer]]

===A–G=== {{div col|colwidth=30em}} * 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<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sihss.se/RudiBallbiography.htm|author=Birger Nordmark and Patrick Houda|title=Rudi Ball|publisher=Sihss.se|access-date=12 May 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070311175056/http://www.sihss.se/RudiBallbiography.htm|archive-date=11 March 2007|url-status=dead}}</ref> * 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<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=https://www.basketball-reference.com/friv/birthplaces.fcgi?country=DE&state=|title=NBA & ABA players Born in Germany|work=basketball-reference.com|access-date=16 June 2019}}</ref> * 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<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.jewishsports.net/historical_view.htm |title=Historical View |publisher=Jewishsports.net |access-date=12 May 2010 |archive-date=7 April 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100407010331/http://www.jewishsports.net/historical_view.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> {{div col end}}

===H–M=== {{div col|colwidth=30em}} * 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<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bundesliga.com/en/bundesliga/news/jurgen-klinsmann-a-world-football-legend-usmnt-3779|title=Jürgen Klinsmann: the life of a world football legend|work=bundesliga.com|access-date=16 June 2019}}</ref> * 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 {{div col end}}

===N–R=== [[File:DirkNowitzki.jpg|thumb|120px|Dirk Nowitzki]] {{div col|colwidth=30em}} * 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<ref name=":0"/> * Kristin Otto (born 1966), Olympic swimming champion * Sylke Otto (born 1969), luger * Mesut Özil (born 1988), football player * Claudia Pechstein (born 1972), speed skater * Uta Pippig (born 1965), athlete * Lukas Podolski (born 1985), football player * Sarah Poewe (born 1983), South African-German swimmer, Olympic bronze (4 × 100 medley relay) * Ellen Preis (Ellen Müller-Preis) (1912–2007), German-born Austrian Olympic champion foil fencer * Daniel Prenn (1904–1991), German-Polish-British tennis player, highest world ranking # <nowiki>6</nowiki> * Birgit Prinz (born 1977), football player * Lina Radke (1903–1983), athlete * Teodor Regedziński (also known as Theodor Reger) (1894–1954), Polish chess master of German origin; father's name was Reger * Otto Rehhagel (born 1938), football player and manager * Annegret Richter (born 1950), athlete * Lars Riedel (born 1967), athlete * Maria Höfl-Riesch (born 1984), World Cup alpine ski racer * Jochen Rindt (1942–1970), German-born racing driver who represented Austria during his career (one-time World Champion) * Walter Röhrl, rally and racing driver (two-time Rally World Champion) * Nico Rosberg (born 1985), former German–Finnish Formula One driver (one-time World Champion) * Bernd Rosemeyer (1909–1938), racing driver * Karl-Heinz Rummenigge (born 1955), football player {{div col end}}

===S–Z=== [[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 102-09348, Max Schmeling.jpg|thumb|120px|Max Schmeling]] [[File:Schumi di GP Kanada 2011 cropped.jpg|thumb|120px|Michael Schumacher]] [[File:Jan Ullrich.jpg|thumb|140px|Jan Ullrich]] [[File:Sebastian Vettel 2017 Malaysia 2.jpg|thumb|120px|Sebastian Vettel]] {{div col|colwidth=30em}} * Arian Sadiković (born 1994), professional Kickboxer former title challenger at One Championship (2022) * Matthias Sammer (born 1967), football player and manager who won the 1996 Ballon d'Or * Thomas Schaaf (born 1961), football player and manager * Max Schmeling (1905–2005), World Heavyweight Boxing Champion * Paul Felix Schmidt (1916–1984), Estonian–German chess master * Martin Schmitt (born 1978), ski jumper * Bernd Schneider, football player * Bernd Schneider, racing driver * Mehmet Scholl (born 1970), football player * Anja Schreiner, IFBB professional bodybuilder * Detlef Schrempf (born 1963), German-American former NBA player<ref name=":0"/> * Carl Schuhmann (1869–1946), won four Olympic titles in gymnastics and wrestling at the 1896 Summer Olympics; becoming the most successful athlete at the inaugural Olympics of the modern era * Harald Schumacher (born 1954), football player * Michael Schumacher (born 1969), racing driver (seven-time Formula One World Champion)<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.formula1.com/en/drivers/hall-of-fame/Michael_Schumacher.html|title=Michael Schumacher|work=formula1.com|access-date=13 June 2019}}</ref> * Ralf Schumacher (born 1975), racing driver; brother of Michael Schumacher * Dennis Schröder, NBA player<ref name=":0"/> * Ralf Schumann (born 1962), pistol shooter * Bernd Schuster (born 1959), football player and manager * Rainer Schüttler, tennis player * Armin Schwarz (born 1963), racing driver * Wolfgang Schmidt (athlete) (born 1954), olympian track and field * Bastian Schweinsteiger (born 1984), football player * Werner Seelenbinder (1904–1944), wrestler * Uwe Seeler (1936–2022), football player * Dennis Seidenberg (born 1981), ice hockey player * Katja Seizinger, alpine ski champion * Wolfgang Stark (born 1969), football referee * Renate Stecher (born 1950), athlete * Britta Steffen (born 1983), swimmer; three-time Olympic medalist<ref>[https://www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/hall-of-fame/bio/swimmer/britta-steffen "Britta Steffen – Hall of Fame Swimmer"]. ''Swimming World''. Retrieved 23 July 2021.</ref> * 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<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://jewsinsports.org/profile.asp?sport=football&ID=55|access-date=2020-09-13|title=x|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030520230414/http://jewsinsports.org/profile.asp?sport=football&ID=55|archive-date=20 May 2003}}</ref> * 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 * Kim Marie Vaske (born 2005), German para-athlete * 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<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.german-times.com/like-many-german-athletes-moritz-wagner-had-a-rough-go-of-it-when-he-arrived-in-the-us-now-hes-a-los-angeles-laker/|title=Like many German athletes, Moritz Wagner had a rough go of it when he arrived in the U.S., now he's a Los Angeles Laker|work=german-times.com|access-date=16 June 2019}}</ref><ref name=":0"/> * 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 {{div col end}}

==Theologians, saints and beatified persons== {{see also|List of German popes}} [[File:Pope Benedict XVI Blessing.jpg|thumb|224x224px|Pope Benedict XVI]] {{div col|colwidth=30em}} * 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) {{div col end}}

==Militants==

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

==Others==

[[File:Schindler, Oskar.jpg|thumb|245x245px|Oskar Schindler]] [[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-T0709-148, Sigmund Jähn.jpg|thumb|248x248px|Sigmund Jähn]] {{div col|colwidth=30em}} * 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<ref>[https://www.forbes.com/sites/stuartanderson/2018/01/15/the-president-in-1885-didnt-stop-immigrant-friedrich-trump-from-coming-to-america/#4007435be49a]"He was born and raised in the village of Kallstadt, in the region of southwestern Germany called the pfalz."</ref> * 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<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/William-I-stadholder-of-United-Provinces-of-The-Netherlands |title=William I |encyclopedia=Britannica.com}}</ref> * 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== {{div col|colwidth=30em}} * List of German astronauts * List of German inventors and discoverers * List of Alsatians and Lorrainians * List of Baltic Germans * List of German agriculture ministers * List of German Jews * List of German monarchs * List of German popes * List of Nobel laureates by country#Germany {{div col end}}

==References== {{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Germans}} Category:Lists of German people

List of Germans

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