List of Germans

Architects

• Walter Gropius, architect
• Carl Ludvig Engel, architect
• Leo von Klenze, architect
• Balthasar Neumann, architect and engineer
• Matthäus Daniel Pöppelmann, architect
• Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, architect
• Karl Friedrich Schinkel, architect and painter
• Johann Conrad Schlaun, architect
• Gottfried Semper, architect
• Albert Speer, architect
• Wilhelm Kreis, architect

  Artists

A–M

• Hans von Aachen, mannerist painter
• Albrecht Altdorfer, painter
• Gertrud Arndt, photographer; pioneering self-portraiture
• Ernst Barlach, sculptor and writer
• Günther Behnisch, architect
• Peter Behrens, architect
• Sibylle Bergemann, photographer
• Joseph Beuys, artist
• Hermann Biow, photographer
• Elisabeth Böhm, architect
• Gottfried Böhm, architect
• Arno Breker, sculptor
• Lovis Corinth, painter
• Lucas Cranach the Elder, painter
• Lucas Cranach the Younger, painter
• Yitzhak Danziger, Berlin-born Israeli sculptor
• Otto Dix, painter
• Albrecht Dürer, painter
• Egon Eiermann, architect and designer
• Max Ernst, surrealist painter
• Carl Eytel, painter of desert landscapes in the American Southwest
• Caspar David Friedrich, painter
• Dörte Gatermann, architect
• Willi Glasauer, artist
• Walter Gropius, architect
• George Grosz, artist
• Matthias Grünewald, German Renaissance painter
• Johann Gottlieb Hantzsch, painter
• Christian Hellmich, artist
• Hannah Höch, artist
• Hans Holbein the Elder, painter
• Hans Holbein the Younger, illustrator and painter
• Jörg Immendorff, painter
• Helmut Jahn, architect and designer
• Horst Janssen, draftsman, graphic artist, woodcutter, watercolour painter, writer
• Ulli Kampelmann, sculptor and painter
• Anselm Kiefer, painter
• Martin Kippenberger, painter
• Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, painter
• Leo von Klenze, architect
• Hans Kollhoff, architect
• Käthe Kollwitz, painter
• Christian Lemmerz, sculptor and scenographer
• Max Liebermann, painter
• Markus Lüpertz, painter and sculptor
• August Macke, painter
• Harro Magnussen, sculptor
• Franz Marc, painter
• Hans Memling, painter
• Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, architect and designer
• Paula Modersohn-Becker, painter
• Georg Muche, painter, printmaker, architect, author and teacher

  N–Z

• Helmut Newton, photographer
• Frei Otto, architect and research scientist
• Max Pechstein, painter
• Sigmar Polke, painter
• Gerhard Richter, painter
• Julius Runge, marine painter
• Karl Friedrich Schinkel, architect and painter
• Oskar Schlemmer, choreographer, painter, sculptor and stage designer
• Eberhard Schlotter, painter
• Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, painter
• Kurt Schwitters, painter and poet
• Fritz Schumacher, architect and urban designer
• Max Slevogt, painter
• Carl Spitzweg, painter
• Birgit Stauch, sculptor
• Fritz Stoltenberg, landscape artist and marine painter
• Franz Stuck, painter
• Yigal Tumarkin, Israeli painter and sculptor
• Wolf Vostell, artist
• Bertha Wehnert-Beckmann, pioneering female photographer
• Emilie Winkelmann, architect

  Company founders

A–M

• Karl Albrecht and Theo Albrecht, founder of Aldi
• Ludwig Bamberger, co-founder of Deutsche Bank
• John Jacob Bausch, co-founder of Bausch & Lomb, makers of contact lenses and Ray-Ban sunglasses
• Friedrich Bayer, founder of what would become Bayer, a chemical and pharmaceutical company
• Hans Beck, founder of Playmobil
• Paul Beiersdorf, founded Beiersdorf AG, manufacturers of Nivea, Eucerin
• Melitta Bentz, invented the coffee filter and started Melitta, manufacturers of coffee, paper coffee filters and coffee makers
• Karl Benz, inventor of the gasoline-powered automobile; co-founder of the automobile manufacturer Mercedes-Benz
• Maximilian Delphinius Berlitz, founder of Berlitz Language Schools
• Carl Bertelsmann, founder of Bertelsmann AG, subsidiaries include Random House and BMG
• Johann Adam Birkenstock, in 1774 founded Birkenstock shoe company
• Hermann Blohm, in 1877, co-founder of Blohm+Voss, manufacturer of ships
• Carl F. W. Borgward, founder of Borgward
• August Borsig, founder of Borsig Werke
• Robert Bosch, industrialist, engineer and inventor; founder of Robert Bosch GmbH
• Hugo Boss, fashion designer, founder of Hugo Boss AG
• Max Braun, founder of Braun GmbH, makers of personal care appliances, coffee makers and other home appliances
• Adolphus Busch, co-founder of Anheuser-Busch brewing company
• Adolph Coors, founder of the Adolph Coors Company brewery, now part of MillerCoors
• Gottlieb Daimler, inventor and engineer; founder of Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft, now Daimler-Benz AG
• Adolf Dassler, founder of sportswear company Adidas
• Rudolf Dassler, founder of sportwear company Puma
• Adelbert Delbrück, co-founder of Deutsche Bank
• Guido Henckel von Donnersmarck, founder of company Schlesische AG für Bergbau und Zinkhüttenbetrieb
• Claude Dornier, founder of Dornier Flugzeugwerke
• Friedrich Engelhorn, founder of the chemical company BASF
• Kaspar Faber, founder of Faber-Castell, manufacturers of office supplies, art supplies, writing instruments and leather goods
• Günther Fielmann, founder of Fielmann
• Wilhelm von Finck, co-founder of Munich Re and Allianz
• Eduard Fresenius, founder of Fresenius
• Jakob Fugger the Elder, founder of Fugger bank
• Marcus Goldman, co-founder of Goldman Sachs
• Max Grundig, founder of Grundig
• Max Herz, co-founder of Tchibo
• Ernst Heinkel, founder of Heinkel, manufacturer of airplanes
• Richard Hellmann, founder of Hellmann's Mayonnaise
• Friedrich Karl Henkel, founder of Henkel
• Johann Peter Henckels, founder of J.A. Henckels, manufacturers of kitchen knives, scissors, cookware and flatware
• August Horch, founder of Audi automobile company in 1909
• Helmut Horten, founder of Horten AG
• August Howaldt, founder of Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft in 1835
• Hugo Junkers founder of Junkers, manufacturer of airplanes in 1895
• Rudolph Karstadt, founder of Karstadt
• Ernst Keil, founder and publisher of Die Gartenlaube
• Carl Kellner, founder of Ernst Leitz GmbH, which later became Leica Camera AG, Leica Geosystems AG, and Leica Microsystems AG, producing cameras, geosurvey equipment and microscopes
• Carl Heinrich Theodor Knorr founder of Knorr
• Friedrich Krupp, steel manufacturer and founder of the steel producers ThyssenKrupp AG
• Heinrich Lanz, founder of Heinrich Lanz AG
• Henry Lehman, Emanuel Lehman and Mayer Lehman, German-born bankers, co-founders of Lehman Brothers
• Carl von Linde, founder of The Linde Group
• Henry Lomb, co-founder of Bausch & Lomb
• Friedrich Lürssen, founder of Lürssen in 1875, manufacturers of ships
• Oscar Ferdinand Mayer, founder of the processed-meat firm Oscar Mayer
• Joseph Mendelssohn, founder of former bank Mendelssohn & Co.
• Friedrich Jacob Merck, founder of Merck KGaA
• George Merck, founder of Merck & Co.
• Willy Messerschmitt, founder of Messerschmidt, airplane manufacturer
• Heinrich Meyerfreund, founder of Garoto, a chocolate company in Brazil
• Carl Miele, founder of Miele, a manufacturer of domestic appliances
• Frederick Miller , founder of the Miller Brewing Company in 1855

  N–Z

• Josef Neckermann founder of the company Neckermann
• August Oetker, founder of the company Dr Oetker
• Adam Opel, founder of the automobile company Adam Opel AG
• Salomon Oppenheim, founder of bank Sal. Oppenheim
• Ernest Oppenheimer, diamond and gold mining entrepreneur, financier and philanthropist, who controlled De Beers and founded the Anglo American Corporation of South Africa
• Werner Otto, founder of Otto GmbH, now Otto Group, a mail order company
• Ferdinand Porsche, designer and founder of Porsche
• Günther Quandt, industrial, entrepreneur of different companies
• Karl Friedrich Rapp, co-founder of Rapp Motorenwerke GmbH, which later became BMW AG
• Emil Rathenau, founder of AEG
• Paul Reuter, pioneer of telegraphy and news reporting; founder of Reuters news agency
• Hans Riegel, Sr., founder of Haribo, the manufacturer of gummi and jelly sweets
• Nathan Mayer Rothschild, founder of British company N M Rothschild & Sons
• Ernst Christian Friedrich Schering, founder of the pharmaceutical company Schering AG
• Gustav Schickedanz founder of Quelle
• Anton Schlecker, founder of Schlecker
• Ernst Schmidt and Wilhelm Schmidt-Ruthenbeck, founders of Metro AG
• Fritz Sennheiser, founder of Sennheiser Electronic GmbH & Co. KG, specializing in high fidelity products
• Georg von Siemens, co-founder of Deutsche Bank
• Werner von Siemens, inventor, founder of Siemens, the electronics and electrical engineering company
• J.S. Staedtler, in 1835 founded Staedtler Mars GmbH & Co. KG, suppliers of writing, artist, and engineering drawing instruments
• Bruno Steinhoff, founder of Steinhoff
• Henry E. Steinway, founder of the piano company Steinway & Sons
• Hugo Stinnes, 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, in 1880 founded cosmetics company Wella AG
• Carl Tchilinghiryan, co-founder of Tchibo
• Carl von Thieme, founder of Allianz AG, a financial services company
• August Thyssen, founder of Walzwerk Thyssen & Co. in Mülheim an der Ruhr
• Friedrich Thyssen, founder of Draht-Fabrik-Compagnie in Aachen
• Hermann Tietz, founder of Hertie, a department store
• Leopold Ullstein, founder of publishing company Ullstein Verlag
• Ernst Voss, in 1877, co-founder of Blohm+Voss, manufacturer of ships
• Carl Walther, founder of Walther
• Moses Marcus Warburg and Gershon Warburg, co-founder of M. M. Warburg & Co., German bank
• Siegmund Warburg, founder of S. G. Warburg & Co., British bank
• Bartholomeus V. Welser, Welser brothers bank
• Georg Wertheim, founder of Wertheim, a department store
• Stef Wertheimer, German-born Israeli industrialist, investor, philanthropist,billionaire, and former Member of the Knesset
• Aloys Wobben, founder of Enercon
• Reinhold Würth, company Würth
• Carl Zeiss, founder of Carl Zeiss AG, a maker of optical instruments
• Ferdinand von Zeppelin, inventor of the Zeppelin; founder of the Zeppelin Airship company

  Fashion models

• Johanna Acs, model
• Nadja Auermann, supermodel
• Eugen Bauder
• Charlott Cordes
• Zohre Esmaeli, model, author, designer
• Toni Garrn
• Stefanie Giesinger, model
• Lena Gercke, winner of 2006 Germany's Next Topmodel
• Jennifer Hof, winner of 2008 Germany's Next Topmodel
• Alexandra Kamp
• Heidi Klum, model and host of Project Runway and Germany's Next Topmodel
• Diane Kruger, model and actress
• Barbara Meier, winner of 2007 Germany's Next Topmodel
• Uschi Obermaier, model and actress
• Eva Padberg
• Nico, model, singer and actress
• Tatjana Patitz, supermodel
• Claudia Schiffer, supermodel
• Tassilo Schuster, presenter on Russian television channel Fashion TV
• Julia Stegner
• Celine Willers, Miss Universe Germany 2018

  Fashionmakers

• Hugo Boss, fashion designer
• Wolfgang Joop, fashion designer
• Karl Lagerfeldt, fashion designer
• Michael Michalsky, fashion designer

  Film and theatre

Actresses and actors

A–M

• Inga Abel, actress
• Mario Adorf, actor and writer
• Hans Albers, actor
• Iris Berben, actress
• Moritz Bleibtreu, actor
• Grit Boettcher, actress
• Eric Braeden, actor
• Daniel Brühl, actor
• Horst Buchholz, actor
• Vicco von Bülow, actor and comedian
• Zazie Beetz, German born American actress
• Hans Clarin, actor
• August Diehl, actor
• Marlene Dietrich, actress
• George Dzundza, actor
• Heinz Erhardt, actor and comedian
• Veronica Ferres, actress
• Gert Fröbe, actor
• Cornelia Froboess, actress
• Martina Gedeck, actress
• Götz George, actor
• Heinrich George, actor
• Gustaf Gründgens, actor
• Eva Habermann, actress and model
• Evelyn Hamann, actress
• Brigitte Helm, actress
• Henriette Hendel-Schütz, stage actress, mimoplastic performer
• Emil Jannings, actor
• Harald Juhnke, actor and comedian
• Heidi Kabel, actress
• Klaus Kinski, actor; Polish-German father, German mother
• Nastassja Kinski, actress; daughter of actor Klaus Kinski
• Heidi Klum, model and actress
• Hildegard Knef, actress, singer and writer
• Sebastian Koch, actor
• Thomas Kretschmann, actor and model
• Diane Kruger, actress and model
• Alexandra Maria Lara, actress
• Siegfried Lowitz,actor
• Heike Makatsch, actress
• Hanna Maron, Israeli actress
• Inge Meysel, actress
• Brigitte Mira, actress
• Willy Millowitsch, actor
• Ulrich Mühe, actor
• Armin Mueller-Stahl, actor

  N–Z

• Luise Neumann
• Uwe Ochsenknecht, actor
• Christian Oliver, actor
• Lilli Palmer, actress
• Franka Potente, actress
• Jürgen Prochnow, actor
• Luise Rainer, actress
• Heinz Rühmann, actor
• Otto Sander, actor
• Claudia Schiffer, actress and supermodel
• Romy Schneider, actress
• Jessica Schwarz, actress
• Til Schweiger, actor
• Matthias Schweighöfer, actor
• Hanna Schygulla, actress
• Xenia Seeberg, actress and model
• Tomer Sisley, Israeli humorist, actor, screenwriter, comedian, and film director
• Kristina Söderbaum, actress and photographer
• Günter Strack, actor
• Barbara Sukowa, actress
• Horst Tappert, actor
• Katharina Thalbach, actress
• Nora Tschirner, actress
• Ulrich Tukur, actor
• Nadja Uhl, actress
• Christoph Waltz, actor
• Fritz Wepper, actor
• Luise del Zopp, actress, opera singer, screenwriter

  Filmmakers

• Uwe Boll, film director
• Andreas Deja, animator
• Doris Dörrie, female film director
• Bernd Eichinger, film producer
• Roland Emmerich, film director
• Harun Farocki, film director
• Rainer Werner Fassbinder, film director
• Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, film director; Academy Award winner
• Werner Herzog, film director
• Oliver Hirschbiegel, film director
• Alexander Kluge, film director
• Carl Koch, film director and writer
• Fritz Lang, film director
• Ernst Lubitsch, film director
• F.W. Murnau, film director
• Wolfgang Petersen, film director
• Leni Riefenstahl, female film director
• Helma Sanders-Brahms, film director
• Peter Schamoni, film director
• Volker Schlöndorff, film director
• Andreas Schnaas, film director
• Hans-Jürgen Syberberg, film director
• Tom Tykwer, film director
• Margarethe von Trotta, film director
• Robert Wiene, film director
• Wim Wenders, film director

  Literature

Classic

• Adam of Bremen, medieval chronicler
• Joseph von Auffenberg, dramatist
• Heinrich Böll, author
• Bertolt Brecht, playwright and poet
• Clemens Brentano, poet and novelist
• Georg Büchner, dramatist and author
• Charles Bukowski, German-born American poet, novelist, and short story writer
• Wilhelm Busch, poet and satirist
• Annette von Droste-Hülshoff, poet
• Joseph von Eichendorff, poet
• Theodor Fontane, novelist and poet
• Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, author and poet
• Brothers Grimm, collectors of fairy tales
• Heinrich Heine, poet
• Johann Gottfried Herder, essayist and poet
• Hermann Hesse, author
• E.T.A. Hoffmann, author
• Friedrich Hölderlin, poet
• Ernst Jünger, writer and novelist
• Erich Kästner, novelist
• Heinrich von Kleist, poet, dramatist and novelist
• Gotthold Lessing, writer
• Heinrich Mann, author
• Thomas Mann, author
• Karl May, author
• Theodor Mommsen, A history of Rome
• Christian Morgenstern, poet
• Novalis, poet and novelist
• Erich Maria Remarque, novelist
• Rainer Maria Rilke, poet
• Friedrich Schiller, poet and playwright
• Arno Schmidt, writer
• Theodor Storm, author
• Kurt Tucholsky, writer and satirist
• Walter von der Vogelweide, poet
• Christa Wolf, novelist and essayist
• Wolfram von Eschenbach, poet

  Major

• Yehuda Amichai, German-born Israeli poet
• Ernst Moritz Arndt, poet, songwriter and patriot
• Achim von Arnim, poet
• Bettina von Arnim, writer and novelist
• Ezriel Carlebach, Israeli journalist and editorial writer
• Matthias Claudius, poet and writer
• Michael Ende, author of fantasy novels and children's books
• Erik Erikson, German-American writer, developmental psychologist and psychoanalyst
• Anne Frank, diarist and victim of the Holocaust
• Paul Gerhardt, hymn writer
• Leah Goldberg, Israeli poet
• Joseph Görres, essayist
• Wilhelm Hauff, writer
• Paul Heyse, writer and translator
• Janosch, author of artist and children's books
• Friedrich Kellner, diarist of My Opposition
• Golo Mann, author and historian
• Klaus Mann, author
• Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué, writer
• Prince Hermann von Pückler-Muskau, writer and landscape gardener
• Otfried Preussler, author of children's books
• Wilhelm Raabe, novelist
• Peter Rühmkorf, poet
• Nelly Sachs, poet
• Leopold Schefer, writer, poet and composer
• August Wilhelm Schlegel, poet and translator
• Ludwig Tieck, poet, editor and novelist
• Ludwig Uhland, poet, writer and playwright
• Gero von Wilpert, essayist

  Contemporary

• Hans Magnus Enzensberger, essayist and poet
• Günter Grass, author; recipient, 1999 Nobel Prize in Literature
• Peter Härtling, author
• Rolf Hochhuth, playwright
• Wladimir Kaminer, short story writer
• Daniel Kehlmann, novelist
• Siegfried Lenz, author
• Ferdinand von Schirach, author, screenwriter and lawyer
• Bernhard Schlink, author and professor of law
• Patrick Süskind, author and screenwriter
• Rudolf von Waldenfels, author
• Martin Walser, playwright and novelist

  Humorists, cabaret performers and comedians

• Dieter Hildebrandt, cabaret performers
• Bruno Jonas, cabaret performers
• Michael Mittermeier, comedian
• Georg Schramm, cabaret performers
• Mathias Richling, cabaret performers
• Richard Rogler, cabaret performers
• Daniel Tosh, comedian

  Journalists

• Rudolf Augstein, journalist
• Peter Limbourg, journalist
• Marion Dönhoff , journalist
• Günther Jauch, journalist
• Axel Springer, journalist
• Sabine Christiansen, journalist
• Maybrit Illner, journalist
• Anne Will, journalist
• Sandra Maischberger, journalist

  Mathematicians

• Wilhelm Ackermann, mathematician
• Georg Cantor, mathematician
• Richard Dedekind, mathematician
• Walther von Dyck, mathematician
• Albert Einstein, mathematician, physicist
• Gottlob Frege, mathematician
• Philipp Furtwängler, mathematician
• Carl Friedrich Gauss, mathematician
• Ernst Hellinger, mathematician
• David Hilbert, mathematician
• Carl Gustav Jacob Jacobi, mathematician
• Erich Kähler, mathematician
• Johannes Kepler, mathematician and astronomer
• Felix Christian Klein, mathematician
• Hermann Klaus Hugo Weyl, mathematician
• Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, mathematician
• Kurt Mendelssohn, mathematician
• Hermann Minkowski, mathematician
• August Ferdinand Möbius, mathematician, theoretical astronomer
• Carl Neumann, mathematician
• Emmy Noether, mathematician
• Georg Ohm, mathematician
• Carl Adam Petri, mathematician, computer scientist
• Julius Plücker, mathematician
• Bernhard Riemann, mathematician
• Adam Ries, mathematician, physicist, archeologist
• Gustav Roch mathematician
• Eric Reissner, mathematician, engineer
• Carl David Tolmé Runge, mathematician, physicist, spectrocopist
• Heinrich Scherk, mathematician
• Herman Schwarz, mathematician
• Carl Ludwig Siegel, mathematician
• Roland Sprague, mathematician
• Heinrich Martin Weber, mathematician
• Karl Weierstrass, mathematician
• Max Zorn, mathematician

  Military

• Heinrich Bürkle de la Camp, general who specialized as a medic and army doctor
• Carl von Clausewitz, Prussian professional soldier, military historian, and influential military theorist
• Erich von Falkenhayn, general, Prussian Minister of War and Chief of General Staff
• August von Gneisenau, Prussian field marshal and chief of the Prussian General Staff
• Heinz Guderian, military theorist and innovative general
• Erich Hartmann, fighter pilot and air ace
• Alfred Jodl, general, operations chief of the OKW
• Günther von Kluge, field marshal and commander of the Fourth Army and Army Group Center
• Erich Ludendorff, general and Quartermaster General
• Erich von Manstein, field marshal and professional soldier
• Helmuth von Moltke the Elder, field marshal, chief of staff of the Prussian Army for thirty years
• Friedrich Paulus, general and commander of the German Sixth Army, later promoted to Field Marshal
• Günther Rall, 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, fighter pilot and air ace
• Erwin Rommel, field marshal and commander of Afrika Korps and Army Group B
• Albrecht von Roon, field marshall, Minister of War from
• Hans-Ulrich Rudel, Stuka dive-bomber pilot and air ace
• Gerd von Rundstedt, field marshal and commander
• Alfred von Schlieffen, field marshal, Strategist and Chief of General Staff
• Gerhard von Scharnhorst, general and Prussian Minister of War
• Michael Wittmann, SS captain and tank ace

  Music

Composers

• Carl Friedrich Abel, composer
• Martin Agricola, composer
• Siegfried Alkan, composer
• Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, composer; son of Johann Sebastian Bach
• Johann Christian Bach, composer; son of Johann Sebastian Bach
• Johann Sebastian Bach, composer
• Klaus Badelt, film composer
• Ludwig van Beethoven, composer
• Martin Böttcher, film composer
• Johannes Brahms, composer
• Max Bruch, composer
• Dieterich Buxtehude, Danish-German organist and composer of the Baroque period
• Hanns Eisler, composer
• Friedrich von Flotow, composer
• Christoph Willibald Gluck, composer
• Georg Friedrich Händel, composer, opera composer
• Fanny Hensel, composer
• Paul Hindemith, composer
• Engelbert Humperdinck, composer
• Albert Lortzing, composer
• Giacomo Meyerbeer, composer
• Felix Mendelssohn, composer
• Leopold Mozart, composer, conductor, teacher, and violinist; father of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
• Jacques Offenbach, composer
• Carl Orff, composer
• Johann Pachelbel, composer
• Hans Pfitzner, composer
• Max Reger, composer
• Wolfgang Rihm, composer
• Leopold Schefer, writer and composer
• Clara Schumann, composer
• Robert Schumann, composer and songwriter
• Heinrich Schütz, composer
• Charlotte Seither, classical composer, pianist and music educator
• Karlheinz Stockhausen, modern composer
• Richard Strauss, composer, opera composer
• Georg Philipp Telemann, composer
• Richard Wagner, composer
• Carl Maria von Weber, composer
• Kurt Weill, composer
• Hans Zimmer, film composer

  Conductors, instrumentalists and singers

A–M

• Hans Albers, singer and actor
• Thomas Anders, singer
• Lale Andersen, singer
• Lou Bega, singer
• Andrea Berg, singer-songwriter
• Wolf Biermann, singer-songwriter and East German dissident
• Dieter Bohlen, music producer
• Andreas Bourani, singer-songwriter
• Hans-Jürgen Buchner, founder, composer, songwriter of the band Haindling
• Fritz Busch, conductor
• Bushido, rapper
• Campino, lead singer of the band Die Toten Hosen
• Yvonne Catterfeld, singer
• Sarah Connor, pop and soul singer
• Michael and Sandra Cretu, founders and performers of the musical project Enigma and the group Sandra
• Diana Damrau, coloratura soprano opera singer
• Marlene Dietrich, singer
• Herbert Dreilich, singer of the Band Karat
• Jürgen Drews, singer
• Katja Ebstein, singer
• Fancy, singer
• Frank Farian, German record producer and songwriter
• Helene Fischer, singer
• Gertrude Förstel, operatic soprano, voice teacher
• Peter Fox, singer
• Wilhelm Furtwängler, conductor and composer
• Rex Gildo, singer
• Bernd Heinrich Graf, lead singer of the Band Unheilig
• Antye Greie, vocalist, musician and composer
• Herbert Grönemeyer, singer
• Gudrun Gut, electronic musician
• Nina Hagen, singer
• Heino, pop singer
• Willy Hess, violinist
• Natalie Horler, member of the band Cascada
• Annette Humpe, singer of the bands Ideal and Ich + Ich
• Matthias Jabs, guitarist of the band Scorpions
• Roland Kaiser, singer
• Bill Kaulitz, lead singer of the band Tokio Hotel
• John Kay , German–Canadian musician
• Gershon Kingsley, composer
• Alexander Klaws, singer
• Hildegard Knef, singer
• Peter Kraus, singer
• Mike Kogel, lead singer of the band Los Bravos
• Rolf Köhler, singer, musician and record producer
• Paul Kuhn, band leader and singer
• LaFee, singer
• Ute Lemper, singer
• Udo Lindenberg, singer
• Michail Lifits, concert pianist
• Till Lindemann, lead singer of the band Rammstein
• Georg Listing, bassist of the band Tokio Hotel
• Frida Lyngstad, lead singer of the pop group ABBA
• Peter Maffay, singer
• Klaus Meine, vocalist of the band Scorpions
• Reinhard Mey
• Lena Meyer-Landrut, singer
• Marius Müller-Westernhagen, singer
• Karl Münchinger, conductor
• Anne-Sophie Mutter, violinist

  N–Z

• Xavier Naidoo
• Meshell Ndegeocello, born of American parents in Germany
• Nena
• Nicole, singer
• Klaus Nomi
• Lisa Otto, opera singer
• Martin Rich, conductor and pianist
• Marianne Rosenberg, singer and songwriter
• Anneliese Rothenberger, singer
• Sandra, singer
• Kool Savas, half German, half Turkish singer
• Gustav Schäfer, drummer of the band Tokio Hotel
• Michael Schenker, guitar player of band UFO and solo career
• Rudolf Schenker, guitarist of the band Scorpions; brother of Michael Schenker
• Peter Schilling, singer
• Sido, rapper
• Cassandra Steen, German-American singer, songwriter, and voice actress,
• Farin Urlaub, lead singer of the band Die Ärzte
• Lena Valaitis, singer
• Paul van Dyk, DJ, musician and record producer.
• Hannes Wader, singer-songwriter
• Claire Waldoff, singer
• Bruno Walter, conductor and composer
• Konstantin Wecker, singer-songwriter

  Philosophy

Classic

• Theodor Adorno, philosopher, sociologist and composer
• Albertus Magnus, medieval philosopher and theologian
• Hannah Arendt, political theorist
• Walter Benjamin
• Ernst Bloch
• Jakob Böhme, mystic philosopher
• Franz Brentano, philosopher and psychologist
• Rudolf Carnap, philosopher
• Ernst Cassirer
• Wilhelm Dilthey, philosopher, historian, psychologist
• Ludwig Feuerbach, philosopher
• Johann Gottlieb Fichte, philosopher
• Gottlob Frege, mathematician, logician and philosopher
• Eduard von Hartmann, philosopher
• Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, philosopher
• Martin Heidegger, philosopher
• Max Horkheimer
• Edmund Husserl, philosopher
• Karl Jaspers, philosopher
• Immanuel Kant, philosopher
• Gottfried Leibniz, physicist, philosopher
• Karl Marx, philosopher and sociologist
• Moses Mendelssohn, philosopher
• Lorenz Christoph Mizler, philosopher active in Poland
• Nikolaus Cusanus, philosopher, theologian, mathematician
• Friedrich Nietzsche, early existentialist philosopher
• Friedrich Schelling, philosopher
• Moritz Schlick, philosopher
• Arthur Schopenhauer, philosopher
• Christian Wolff, philosopher

  Major

• Bruno Bauer, political theorist and philosopher
• Friedrich Engels, philosopher, political economist
• Rudolf Christoph Eucken, philosopher
• Erich Fromm
• Hans-Georg Gadamer, philosopher
• Wilhelm von Humboldt, philosopher, linguist, government functionary, diplomat; brother of Alexander von Humboldt
• Ludwig Klages, philosopher
• Leo Löwenthal
• Karl Löwith
• Herbert Marcuse
• Samuel von Pufendorf, moral and political philosopher
• Johann Karl Friedrich Rosenkranz
• Franz Rosenzweig
• Max Scheler, philosopher
• Carl Schmitt, political theorist
• Georg Simmel, philosopher and sociologist
• Max Stirner, philosopher
• Carl Friedrich von Weizsäcker, philosopher and physicist

  Contemporary

• Hans Albert, philosopher
• Kurt Flasch, philosopher
• Jürgen Habermas, philosopher, social theorist
• Dieter Henrich, philosopher
• Odo Marquard, philosopher
• Julian Nida-Rümelin, philosopher and political theorist
• Konrad Ott, moral philosopher and environmentalist
• Peter Sloterdijk, philosopher and television host
• Robert Spaemann, philosopher
• Oswald Spengler, philosopher of history; best known for his book "The Decline of the West"
• Ernst Tugendhat, philosopher

  Politicians

Miscellaneous

• Arminius
• Rainer Barzel, leader of the party Christian Democratic Union of Germany
• August Bebel, co-founder of the Social Democratic Party of Germany
• Rudolf von Bennigsen, founder of the National Liberal Party
• Eduard Bernstein, Social Democratic leader
• Heinrich von Brentano, Foreign Minister Christian Democratic Union of Germany
• Julius Curtius, Foreign Minister
• Matthias Erzberger, Catholic Center party leader
• Joschka Fischer, Foreign Minister and vice chancellor 1998–2005
• Hans-Dietrich Genscher, former minister for foreign affairs
• Jakob Grimm, parliamentarian
• Wilhelm Grimm, parliamentarian
• Gregor Gysi, former leader of the Party of Democratic Socialism
• Georg Hornstein, resistance fighter during the period of National Socialism
• Alfred Hugenberg, leader of the German National People's Party
• Johann Jacoby, radical democrat in Prussia
• Luise Kähler, trade union leader, founding member of Socialist Unity Party of Germany
• Karl Kautsky, Social Democratic leader and theoretician
• Petra Kelly, co-founder of the German Green Party
• Roland Koch, Minister-President of Hesse
• Oskar Lafontaine, socialist, former minister for finance
• Ferdinand Lassalle, democrat and socialist
• Karl Liebknecht, socialist
• Wilhelm Liebknecht, co-founder of the Social Democratic Party of Germany
• Rosa Luxemburg, left-wing Social Democratic leader
• Jakob Maria Mierscheid, virtual parliamentarian
• Hans Modrow, former leader of GDR, honorary chairman of PDS
• Hermann Müller, Chancellor of the Weimar Republic
• Erich Ollenhauer, leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany
• Antonie "Toni" Pfülf, early female socialist
• Walther Rathenau, foreign minister
• Eugen Richter, liberal politician
• Wolfgang Schäuble, Christian politician, financial minister
• Carlo Schmid, politician who had vast influence on the content of the German Basic Law after World War II
• Gerhard Schröder, foreign minister, minister of the Interior
• Kurt Schumacher, leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany in the early years of the FRG
• Baron Heinrich vom Stein
• Edmund Stoiber, party leader of the CSU and former minister president of Bavaria
• Franz Josef Strauss, Bavarian politician
• Ernst Thälmann, leader of the Communist Party of Germany during the Weimar period
• Hans-Jochen Vogel, leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany, federal minister of justice
• Otto Wels, leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany
• Guido Westerwelle, party leader of the liberal party
• Klaus Wowereit, social democrat politician
• Clara Zetkin, socialist and fighter for women's rights

  Chancellors of Germany 1871–1945

• Gustav Bauer, chancellor of the Weimar Republic
• Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg, Imperial Chancellor
• Otto von Bismarck, Imperial Chancellor
• Heinrich Brüning, Chancellor of the Weimar Republic
• Bernhard von Bülow, Imperial Chancellor
• Leo von Caprivi, Imperial Chancellor
• Wilhelm Cuno, Chancellor of the Weimar Republic
• Konstantin Fehrenbach, Chancellor of the Weimar Republic
• Georg von Hertling, Imperial Chancellor
• Adolf Hitler, combining legally both offices, President and Chancellor
• Prince Chlodwig zu Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst, Imperial Chancellor
• Hans Luther, Chancellor of the Weimar Republic
• Wilhelm Marx, Chancellor of the Weimar Republic
• Prince Maximilian of Baden, Last Imperial Chancellor
• Georg Michaelis, Imperial Chancellor
• Franz von Papen, Chancellor of the Weimar Republic
• Philipp Scheidemann, Chancellor of Weimar Republic
• Kurt von Schleicher, last Chancellor of the Weimar Republic
• Gustav Stresemann, Chancellor of the Weimar Republic
• Joseph Wirth, Chancellor of the Weimar Republic

  Chancellors of Germany (after World War II)

• Konrad Adenauer, first democratically elected Federal Chancellor in Western Germany from 1949 to 1963
• Ludwig Erhard, Federal Chancellor from 1963 to 1966
• Kurt Georg Kiesinger, Federal Chancellor from 1966 to 1969
• Willy Brandt, Federal Chancellor from 1969 to 1974
• Helmut Schmidt, Federal Chancellor from 1974 to 1982
• Helmut Kohl, Federal Chancellor from 1982 to 1998
• Gerhard Schröder, Federal Chancellor from 1998 to 2005
• Angela Merkel, Federal Chancellor since 2005

  Presidents of Germany

• Theodor Heuss, Federal President 1949–59
• Heinrich Lübke, Federal President 1959–69
• Gustav Heinemann, Federal President 1969–74
• Walter Scheel, Federal President 1974–79
• Karl Carstens, Federal President 1979–84
• Richard von Weizsäcker, Federal President 1984–94
• Roman Herzog, Federal President 1994–99
• Johannes Rau, Federal President 1999–2004
• Horst Köhler, Federal President 2004–10
• Jens Böhrnsen, acting President since resignation of Köhler in 2010
• Christian Wulff, Federal President 2010–12
• Horst Seehofer, acting President since resignation of Wulff in 2012
• Joachim Gauck, Federal President 2012-2017
• Frank-Walter Steinmeier Federal President since 19 March 2017

  Politicians of the East German [Communist] Party and regime

• Otto Grotewohl, minister president of the GDR
• Erich Honecker, leader of the GDR until 1989
• Egon Krenz, leader of the GDR after Honecker
• Erich Mielke, head of the Stasi
• Wilhelm Pieck, first president of the GDR
• Heinrich Rau, chairman of the German Economic Commission
• Günter Schabowski, member of politburo
• Willy Stoph, premier of the GDR
• Walter Ulbricht, leader of the GDR

  Personalities of the Nazi">Nazism">Nazi Party and regime

• Artur Axmann, Hitler Youth leader
• Klaus Barbie, the "Butcher of Lyon"
• Fedor von Bock, field marshal
• Martin Bormann, Nazi leader
• Eva Braun, Hitler's mistress and finally his wife
• Wilhelm Canaris, admiral and chief of the Abwehr
• Karl Dönitz, Admiral of the Fleet, briefly Hitler's successor as President
• Anton Drexler, founder of German Workers' Party, which became the NSDAP
• Adolf Eichmann, Nazi SS-Obersturmbannführer
• Hans Frank, Governor-General of Poland
• Roland Freisler, Nazi judge
• Wilhelm Frick, Minister of the Interior
• Walther Funk, Minister of Economics
• Joseph Goebbels, Chancellor of Germany, propaganda chief for the Nazis
• Hermann Göring, Nazi, Reich Marshal and chief of Luftwaffe
• Rudolf Hess, Hitler's private secretary, later Deputy Führer
• Reinhard Heydrich, Nazi officer, head of the Sicherheitsdienst and RSHA
• Heinrich Himmler, Nazi head of the SS
• Rudolf Höss, commandant of Auschwitz
• Ernst Kaltenbrunner, Heydrich's successor at the RSHA
• Hans Kammler, author and organiser of first Death Camps
• Wilhelm Keitel, field marshal, head of the OKW
• Karl Otto Koch, German first commandant of the Buchenwald concentration camp
• Robert Ley, head of the German Labour Front
• Erich von Manstein, field marshal and commander of the Eleventh Army, Army Group Don, and Army Group South
• Josef Mengele, German SS officer and a physician in the Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz
• Erhard Milch, Göring's second-in-command, Air Inspector General
• Walter Model, field marshal
• Heinrich Müller, head of the Gestapo
• Konstantin von Neurath, Foreign Minister in the early years of the regime
• Franz von Papen, Deputy Chancellor in Hitler's first cabinet
• Erich Raeder, Admiral of the Fleet
• Joachim von Ribbentrop, Nazi foreign minister
• Ernst Röhm, first Stabschef of the SA
• Erwin Rommel, Commander of the 7th Panzer Division and the Afrika Korps
• Alfred Rosenberg, Nazi ideologist
• Gerd von Rundstedt, field marshal, Commander-in-Chief East, commander of Army Group South, Commander-in-Chief West
• Hjalmar Schacht, Minister of Finance
• Baldur von Schirach, first Hitler Youth leader
• Albert Speer, "Hitler's architect", Minister of Armaments
• Gregor Strasser, left-wing Nazi leader
• Julius Streicher, Nazi Party leader in Franconia

  Royalty

• Alix of Hesse and Rhine, German princess by birth before marrying Tsar Nicholas II to become a Russian tsarina
• Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Queen Victoria's husband and consort
• Albert, King of Saxony
• Anne of Cleves, Queen of England from 6 January to 9 July 1540 as the fourth wife of King Henry VIII
• Anton, King of Saxony
• Carol I of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, Prince and King of Romania
• Catherine the Great, Empress of Russia
• Charles IV, King of Germany 1346, Holy Roman Emperor 1355–78
• Charles V, King of Spain 1516, King of Germany 1519, Holy Roman Emperor 1530–56
• Charles, King of Württemberg
• Claus von Amsberg, diplomat and husband of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands
• Ferdinand of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, King of Romania
• Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Prince of Bulgaria, King of the Bulgarians
• Frederick I Barbarossa, King of Germany 1152, Holy Roman Emperor 1155–90
• Frederick I of Prussia, Elector of Brandenburg, King in Prussia
• Frederick I of Württemberg, Duke, Elector, and King of Württemberg
• Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Jerusalem
• Frederick II of Prussia, King of Prussia
• Friedrich III, German Emperor and King of Prussia
• Frederick Augustus I, Elector and King of Saxony
• Frederick Augustus II, King of Saxony
• Frederick Augustus III, King of Saxony
• Frederick William I, King of Prussia
• Frederick William II, King of Prussia
• Frederick William III, King of Prussia
• Frederick William IV, King of Prussia
• George, King of Saxony
• George V, King of Hanover
• Henry I the Fowler, King of Germany 919
• Henry II, King of Germany 1002, Holy Roman Emperor 1014–24
• Henry III, King of Germany 1039, Holy Roman Emperor 1046–56
• Henry IV, King of Germany 1056, Holy Roman Emperor 1084–1106
• Henry V, King of Germany 1106, Holy Roman Emperor 1111–25
• Henry VI, King of Germany 1190, Holy Roman Emperor 1191–97
• John, King of Saxony
• Louis IV, King of Germany 1314, Holy Roman Emperor 1328–47
• Ludwig I, King of Bavaria
• Ludwig II, King of Bavaria
• Ludwig III, King of Bavaria
• Maximilian I, King of Germany 1486, Holy Roman Emperor 1508–19
• Maximilian I, Elector and King of Bavaria
• Maximilian II, King of Bavaria
• Otto I the Great, King of Germany 936, Holy Roman Emperor 962–973
• Otto II, Holy Roman Emperor 973–983
• Otto III, King of Germany 983, Holy Roman Emperor 996–1002
• Otto of Greece King of Bavaria, King of the Hellenes
• Otto of Bavaria, King of Bavaria
• Wilhelm I, German Emperor and King of Prussia
• Wilhelm II, German Emperor and King of Prussia
• William I, King of Württemberg
• William II, King of Württemberg

  Scientists and engineers

A–G

• Otto Wilhelm Hermann von Abich, mineralogist, geologist
• Michael Albeck, Israeli chemist; President of Bar-Ilan University
• Alois Alzheimer, psychiatrist and neuropathologist
• Peter Apian, mathematician, astronomer and cartographer
• Manfred von Ardenne, physicist
• Anton de Bary, surgeon, botanist, microbiologist
• Johann Bayer, astronomer
• Georg Bednorz, physicist Nobel Prize for Physics
• Emil von Behring, physician
• Karl Benz, inventor of the gasoline-powered automobile
• Friedrich Bessel, mathematician
• Hans Bethe, physicist
• Hennig Brand, alchemist; discoverer of phosphorus
• Max Born, physicist
• Robert Bosch, industrialist
• Carl F. W. Borgward, engineer
• Karl Ferdinand Braun, physicist
• Wernher von Braun, space engineer, rocket scientist
• Eduard Buchner, biochemist; recipient 1907 Nobel Prize for Chemistry for the discovery of enzymes
• Robert Wilhelm Bunsen, chemist
• Alfred Buntru, hydraulic engineer and SS officer
• Georg Cantor, mathematician
• Conrad of Leonberg, humanist scholar
• Nicolaus Copernicus, Prussian astronomer who wrote and spoke German; he is also often considered as a Pole
• Hans Gerhard Creutzfeldt, neuropathologist
• Adolf Daimler, mechanical engineer
• Gottlieb Daimler, inventor and engineer
• Carl Duisberg, chemist and industrialist
• Rudolf Diesel, inventor of the Diesel engine
• Paul Ehrlich, physician
• Albert Einstein, physicist
• Gerhard Ertl, physicist
• Hans Jürgen Eysenck, psychologist
• Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit, physicist, engineer, and glass blower
• Wolfgang Finkelnburg, physicist
• Hermann Emil Fischer, chemist and 1902 recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Elvira Fölzer, early female archaeologist
• Joseph von Fraunhofer, physicist
• Gottlob Frege, mathematician and logicist
• Wilhelm Siegmund Frei, dermatologist
• Erich Fromm, psychologist
• Klaus Fuchs, physicist and spy
• Hans Geiger, physicist
• Carl Friedrich Gauss, mathematician
• Otto von Guericke, scientist
• Johannes Gutenberg, inventor of modern bookprinting

  H–J

• Fritz Haber, chemist
• Ernst Haeckel, physician
• Otto Hahn, chemist
• Theodor W. Hänsch, physicist
• Bernhard Hantzsch, ornithologist
• Georg Hartmann, geographer
• Felix Hausdorff, mathematician
• Robert Havemann, chemist
• Ernst Heinkel, aircraft engineer
• Werner Karl Heisenberg, physicist
• Hermann Helmholtz, physicist
• Heinrich Rudolf Hertz, physicist
• Johannes Hevelius, astronomer
• David Hilbert, mathematician
• Johann Homann, geographer
• Erich Hueckel, physicist
• Alexander von Humboldt, explorer
• Carl Gustav Jacob Jacobi, mathematician
• Alfons Maria Jakob, neurologist
• Hugo Junkers, aircraft engineer

  K–L

• Theodor Kaluza, mathematician, theoretical physicist
• Friedrich August Kekulé von Stradonitz, chemist
• Johannes Kepler, astronomer
• Gustav Robert Kirchhoff, physicist
• Martin Heinrich Klaproth, chemist
• Felix Klein, mathematician
• Klaus von Klitzing, physicist, Nobel Prize in Physics
• Wolfgang Franz von Kobell, mineralogist
• Robert Koch, physician
• Walter Karl Koch, surgeon
• Adolph Wilhelm Hermann Kolbe, chemist
• Leopold Kronecker, mathematician
• Ernst Eduard Kummer, mathematician
• Edmund Landau, mathematician
• Hermann Lattemann, balloon pilot and parachutist
• Max von Laue, physicist
• Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, mathematician
• Philipp Eduard Anton von Lenard, physicist
• Rudolph Lennhoff, public health doctor
• August Leskien, linguist
• Justus von Liebig, chemist
• Otto Lilienthal, aviation pioneer
• Ferdinand von Lindemann, mathematician
• Alexander Lippisch, aerodynamicist
• Friedrich Loeffler, bacteriologist
• Johann Josef Loschmidt, physicist, chemist
• Cornelia Lüdecke, polar researcher, historian
• Reimar Lüst, astrophysicist

  M–R

• Ludwig Immanuel Magnus, mathematician
• Siegfried Marcus, automobile pioneer
• Wilhelm Maybach, car-engine and automobile constructor
• Wilhelm Messerschmitt, aircraft engineer
• Lothar Meyer, chemist
• Franz Mertens, mathematician
• August Ferdinand Möbius, mathematician, theoretical astronomer
• Johannes Müller, physiologist
• Walther Nernst, physicist
• Carl Gottfried Neumann, mathematician
• Franz Ernst Neumann, mathematician
• :de:Claus Noé|Claus Noé, economist
• Emmy Noether, mathematician
• Georg Ohm, physicist
• Wilhelm Ostwald, chemist; recipient 1909 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Nicolaus Otto, coinventor of the Otto cycle
• Bernhard Philberth, physicist, engineer, philosopher, theologian
• Max Planck, physicist
• Jesco von Puttkamer, space scientist, engineer and author
• Bernhard Riemann, mathematician
• Adam Ries, mathematician
• Wilhelm Röntgen, physicist; inventor of x-rays

  S–V

• Carl Wilhelm Scheele, chemist
• Matthias Jakob Schleiden, botanist
• Heinrich Schliemann, archaeologist
• Christian Friedrich Schonbein, chemist
• Friedrich Hermann Schottky, mathematician
• Theodor Schwann, physiologist
• Hermann Amandus Schwarz, mathematician
• Karl Schwarzschild, physicist
• Carl Semper, ecologist
• Werner von Siemens, inventor, industrialist
• Rolf Singer, mycologist
• Arnold Sommerfeld, physicist
• Eduard Adolf Strasburger, German-Polish professor; one of the most famous botanists of the 19th century
• Georg Steller, naturalist
• William Stern, psychologist, philosopher
• Alfred Stock, chemist
• Levi Strauss, jeans
• Max Vasmer, linguist
• Rudolf Virchow, pioneer of medicine

  W–Z

• Otto Wallach, physicist
• Hellmuth Walter, propulsion
• Felix Wankel, inventor of the Wankel engine
• Alfred Wegener, geologist, meteorologist
• Karl Weierstrass, mathematician
• August Weismann, biologist
• Carl Friedrich von Weizsäcker, physicist
• Hermann Weyl, mathematician
• Maximilian zu Wied-Neuwied, zoologist
• Wilhelm Wien, physicist
• Heinrich Wohlwill, electrical engineer
• Mieczysław Wolfke, Polish physicist of German descent
• Wilhelm Wundt, physiologist, psychologist
• Christian Zeller, mathematician
• Ferdinand von Zeppelin, inventor of the Zeppelin, founded the Zeppelin Airship company
• Ernst Zermelo, mathematician
• Konrad Zuse, computer pioneer

  Sportspeople

A–G

• Franziska van Almsick, swimmer
• Adolf Anderssen, chess grandmaster
• Tobias Arlt, luger
• Rudi Ball, Hall of Fame ice hockey player, Olympic bronze 1932, World runner-up 1930, bronze 1934
• Michael Ballack, football player
• Karin Balzer, hurdler
• Dieter Baumann, athlete
• Franz Beckenbauer, football player
• Boris Becker, tennis player
• Ludger Beerbaum, equestrian; four-time Olympic Gold medalist
• Elly Beinhorn, aviator
• Isaac Bonga, NBA player
• Valery Belenky, USSR/Azerbaijan/Germany, Olympic gymnastics champion, bronze
• Stefan Bellof, race car driver
• Gretel Bergmann, internationally renowned high jumper of the 1930s was excluded from the 1936 Olympic team due to being Jewish.
• Frank Biela, race car driver
• Oliver Bierhoff, football player
• Jérôme Boateng, football player
• Timo Boll, table tennis player
• Kathrin Boron, scmomuller; four-time Olympic gold medallist
• Andreas Brehme, football player and coach
• Paul Breitner, football player
• Kai Budde, professional player
• Bettina Bunge, tennis player
• Rudolf Caracciola, race car driver
• Uschi Disl, biathlete
• Heike Drechsler, athlete
• Stefan Effenberg, football player
• Christian Ehrhoff, Olympian and National Hockey League hockey player; plays for the Buffalo Sabres
• Erich Gottlieb Eliskases, leading chess player of the 1930s–40s, represented Austria, Germany and Argentina in international competition
• Kornelia Ender, swimmer; became the first woman swimmer to win four gold medals at a single Olympic Games, all in world record times
• Karin Enke, speed skater; one of the most dominant of the 1980s
• Jürgen Fanghänel, boxer
• Rudi Fink, boxer
• Birgit Fischer, kayaker
• Sven Fischer, biathlete
• Alfred Flatow, gymnast, three-time Olympic champion, silver
• Gustav Felix Flatow, two-time Olympic champion
• Heinz-Harald Frentzen, racing driver
• Torsten Frings, football player
• Gottfried Fuchs, Olympic football player
• Erika Geisen, IFBB professional bodybuilder
• Natalie Geisenberger, luger
• Marcel Goc, German Olympian and NHL hockey player; plays for the Nashville Predators
• Harold Goldsmith, born Hans Goldschmidt, American Olympic foil and épée fencer
• Mario Gómez, football player
• Steffi Graf, tennis player
• Michael Greis, biathlete
• Michael Gross, swimmer
• Ricco Groß, biathlete
• Jan Gustafsson, chess grandmaster and Janistan head of state
• Ludwig Guttmann, founder of the Paralympics

  H–M

• Tommy Haas, tennis player
• Georg Hackl, luger
• Hans Halberstadt, German-born American Olympic fencer
• Dietmar Hamann, football player
• Sven Hannawald, ski jumper
• Armin Hary, athlete
• Thomas Häßler, football player
• Nico Hülkenberg, racing driver
• Nick Heidfeld, racing driver
• Lilli Henoch, world records in discus, shot put, and 4x100-m relay
• Jupp Heynckes, retired footballer and current manager of FC Bayern Munich
• Ottmar Hitzfeld, football player and manager
• Leah Horowitz, Israeli Olympic hurdler
• Mats Hummels, football player
• Peter Hussing, boxer
• Robert Hübner, chess grandmaster
• Reinhold Joest, race car driver and racing team owner
• Klaus Junge, one of the youngest German chess grandmasters
• Oliver Kahn, football player
• Andy Kapp, curler
• Udo Kiessling, first ice hockey player to compete at five Olympics
• Herbert Klein, Olympic bronze ; three world records
• Ralph Klein, Berlin-born Israeli basketball player and coach
• Jutta Kleinschmidt, rally driver
• Reiner Klimke, equestrian; won six gold and two bronze medals in dressage at the Summer Olympics
• Jürgen Klinsmann, football player and manager
• Jürgen Klopp, Liverpool football manager
• Miroslav Klose, football player
• Georg Koch, football player
• Marita Koch, sprint track and field athlete who collected 30 world records
• Olaf Kölzig, German Olympian and National Hockey League goalie; plays for the Tampa Bay Lightning
• Andreas Köpke, football player
• Louis Krages, racing driver who raced under the pseudonym of "John Winter"
• Ingrid Krämer, diver and Olympic champion
• Toni Kroos, football player
• Uwe Krupp, ice hockey player and coach; won the Stanley Cup and played in an NHL All-Star Game
• Erich Kühnhackl, ice hockey player; named Germany's ice hockey player of the 20th century and member of the IIHF Hall of Fame
• Kevin Kuske, bobsledder; most successful Olympic athlete in bobsledding, winning four gold medals and two silver medals
• Philipp Lahm, football player
• André Lange, bobsledding champion
• Hermann Lang, champion race car driver
• Bernhard Langer, golfer
• Henry Laskau, racewalker; won 42 national titles; Pan American Games champion; four-time Maccabiah champion
• Emanuel Lasker, the second World Chess Champion
• Jens Lehmann, football player
• Ellen Lohr, racing driver
• Joachim Löw, football player and manager of Germany
• Klaus Ludwig, racing driver
• Marion Lüttge, javelin thrower
• Felix Magath, football player and manager
• Sepp Maier, football player
• Henry Maske, boxer
• Jochen Mass, racing driver
• Lothar Matthäus, football player
• Roland Matthes, swimmer and the most successful backstroke swimmer of all times
• Helene Mayer, foil fencer, Olympic champion
• Georg Meier, motorcycle racer
• Yona Melnik, Israeli Olympic judoka
• Markus Merk, top-level football referee
• Christoph Metzelder, football player
• Ulrike Meyfarth, high jumper
• Rosi Mittermaier, alpine ski champion
• Andreas Möller, football player
• Gerd Müller, football player
• Jörg Müller, race car driver
• Petra Müller, athlete
• Thomas Müller, football player

  N–R

• Patricia Neske, figure skater
• Günter Netzer, football player
• Manuel Neuer, football player
• Gunda Niemann-Stirnemann, speed skater
• Aron Nimzowitsch, Latvian-Danish German chess master and chess writer
• Dirk Nowitzki, National Basketball Association player
• Kristin Otto, Olympic swimming champion
• Sylke Otto, luger
• Mesut Özil, football player
• Claudia Pechstein, speed skater
• Uta Pippig, athlete
• Lukas Podolski, football player
• Sarah Poewe, swimmer, Olympic bronze
• Ellen Preis , German-born Austrian Olympic champion foil fencer
• Daniel Prenn, tennis player, highest world ranking # 6
• Birgit Prinz, football player
• Lina Radke, athlete
• Teodor Regedziński , Polish chess master of German origin; father's name was Reger
• Otto Rehhagel, football player and manager
• Annegret Richter, athlete
• Lars Riedel, athlete
• Maria Höfl-Riesch, World Cup alpine ski racer
• Jochen Rindt, German-born racing driver who represented Austria during his career
• Walter Röhrl, rally and racing driver
• Nico Rosberg, former German–Finnish Formula One driver
• Bernd Rosemeyer, racing driver
• Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, football player

  S–Z

• Matthias Sammer, football player and manager who won the 1996 Ballon d'Or
• Thomas Schaaf, football player and manager
• Max Schmeling, World Heavyweight Boxing Champion
• Paul Felix Schmidt, Estonian–German chess master
• Martin Schmitt, ski jumper
• Bernd Schneider, football player
• Bernd Schneider, racing driver
• Mehmet Scholl, football player
• Anja Schreiner, IFBB professional bodybuilder
• Detlef Schrempf, former NBA player
• Carl Schuhmann, 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, football player
• Michael Schumacher, racing driver
• Ralf Schumacher, racing driver; brother of Michael Schumacher
• Dennis Schröder, NBA player
• Ralf Schumann, pistol shooter
• Bernd Schuster, football player and manager
• Rainer Schüttler, tennis player
• Armin Schwarz, racing driver
• Bastian Schweinsteiger, football player
• Werner Seelenbinder, wrestler
• Uwe Seeler, football player
• Dennis Seidenberg, ice hockey player
• Katja Seizinger, alpine ski champion
• Wolfgang Stark, football referee
• Renate Stecher, athlete
• Michael Stich, tennis player
• Rolf Stommelen, racing driver
• Hans Stuck, racing driver
• Hans-Joachim Stuck, racing driver and son of Hans
• Marco Sturm, ice hockey player and coach; one-time NHL All-Star
• Siegbert Tarrasch, chess grandmaster
• Axel Teichmann, cross-country skier
• Richard Teichmann, leading German chess player, easily of grandmaster strength
• Toni Turek, football player
• Jan Ullrich, cyclist
• Wolfgang Unzicker, chess grandmaster
• Nicole Uphoff, equestrian
• Sebastian Vettel, Formula One driver
• Berti Vogts, football player and manager
• Rudi Völler, football player
• Sebastian Vollmer, American football player, first German NFL draft pick; plays for the New England Patriots
• Katrin Wagner-Augustin, sprint canoer
• Ralf Waldmann, motorcycle racer
• Fritz Walter, football player
• Fritz Walter, football player
• Ulrich Wehling, won the nordic combined event in the Winter Olympics three consecutive times, in 1972, 1976, and 1980
• Jens Weißflog, ski jumper
• Tobias Wendl, luger
• Moritz Wagner, NBA player for the Los Angeles Lakers
• Isabell Werth, equestrian and world champion in dressage; holds the record for the most Olympic medals won by any equestrian athlete
• Kati Wilhelm, biathlete
• Joachim Winkelhock, racing driver
• Manfred Winkelhock, racing driver; brother of Joachim Winkelhock
• Hans Günter Winkler, show jumping rider
• Katarina Witt, figure skater
• Bärbel Wöckel, sprinter
• Sigrun Wodars, athlete
• Jenny Wolf, speed skater
• Erik Zabel, cyclist
• Christian Ziege, football player and manager
• Johannes Zukertort, German Polish-Jewish chessmaster

  Theologians, saints and beatified persons

• Heinrich Abeken, theologian
• Johannes Agricola, Protestant reformer
• Albertus Magnus, medieval philosopher and theologian
• Eusebius Amort
• Pope Benedict XVI
• Dietrich Bonhoeffer, theologian
• Johannes Bugenhagen, Protestant reformer of Pomerania and Denmark; theologian
• Rudolf Bultmann
• Pope Clement II
• Pope Damasus II
• Alfred Delp
• Eugen Drewermann
• Johann Eck
• Anne Catherine Emmerich
• Matthias Faber
• Pope Gregory V
• Adolf Harnack
• Hedwig of Andech
• Johann Gottfried Herder, poet, translator, philosopher and theologian
• Dietrich von Hildebrand
• Clemens August Graf von Galen, beatified, cardinal
• Adolph Kolping, beatified, priest
• Hans Küng
• Karl Lehmann
• Pope Leo IX
• Martin Luther, Protestant Reformation
• Philipp Melanchthon, Protestant Reformation
• Moses Mendelssohn
• Jürgen Moltmann, theologian
• Bernhard Philberth, physicist, engineer, philosopher, theologian
• Karl Rahner, theologian
• Friedrich Schleiermacher, theologian, philosopher
• Albert Schweitzer, musician, physician, pastor, philosopher and theologian
• Dorothee Sölle
• Edith Stein, saint, nun, victim of the Holocaust
• Carsten Peter Thiede, theologian, New Testament historian, chaplain
• Helmut Thielicke, theologian
• Paul Tillich, theologian, philosopher
• Pope Victor II

  Militants

• Linda Wenzel, ISIS bride

  Others

• Michael Baumgardt, web designer
• Michael Fassbender, actor
• Brooks Macek, ice hockey player represents for Germany
• Daryl Boyle, ice hockey player for represents Germans
• Thomas Bach, lawyer, former fencer
• Mathew Dumba, ice hockey player
• Franz Borkenau, social scientist
• Gottfried Gabriel Bredow, historian
• Moritz Brosch, historian
• Dieter Claessens, sociologist
• Thomas Druyen, sociologist
• Shlomo Eckstein, Israeli economist and President of Bar-Ilan University
• Adolf Eugen Fick, inventor of contact lenses
• Gudrun Ensslin, terrorist
• Siegfried Fischbacher, magician, conservationist
• Reinhard Furrer, astronaut
• Andreas Gaill, jurist
• Margarete Gütschow, archaeologist
• Herschel Grynszpan, Polish-Jewish refugee turned assassin
• Kerstin Günther, business executive
• Johann Gutenberg, printer
• Hildegard von Bingen, abbess, mystic
• Roy Horn, magician, conservationist
• Karen Horney, psychoanalyst
• Heribert Illig, historian
• Sigmund Jähn, the first German in space
• Thomas à Kempis, canon regular
• Erhart Kirfel, businessman, finance controller of the SPD
• René König, sociologist
• Siegfried Kracauer
• Christian Frederick Martin, inventor of the steel-string guitar
• Ulrike Meinhof, journalist and terrorist
• Ulf Merbold, astronaut
• Heinrich Meyerfreund, founder of Garoto, a chocolate company in Brazil
• Carl von Ossietzky, journalist and pacifist
• Ferdinand Porsche, designer and founder of Porsche
• Ferry Porsche, automobile designer and son of Ferdinand Porsche
• Ferdinand Alexander Porsche, designer and member of the Porsche family
• Ferdinand Oliver Porsche, lawyer, executive and family member of Porsche
• Ludwig Quidde, historian and pacifist
• Leopold von Ranke, historian
• Paul Reuter, entrepreneur, pioneer of telegraphy and news reporting
• Mathias Rust, aviator who landed on Moscow's Red Square in 1987
• Helmut Schelsky, sociologist
• Oskar Schindler, industrialist; is credited with saving the lives of 1,200 Jews during the Holocaust
• Hannelore Schmatz, mountaineer
• Sophie Scholl, member of the German resistance in World War II
• Heffa Schücking, environmentalist
• Albert Schweitzer, physician, humanitarian
• Henry Shultz, emigrant to the United States, entrepreneur
• Claus von Stauffenberg, Operation Valkyrie
• Edith Stein, nun, victim of the Holocaust
• Johann Tetzel, monk
• Hans-Hasso von Veltheim Indologist, Anthroposophist
• Ulrich Walter, astronaut
• Alfred Weber, sociologist
• Max Weber, sociologist
• Diedrich Hermann Westermann, linguist
• William the Silent, German-born main leader of the Dutch revolt against the Spanish Habsburgs
• Frederick Trump, businessman, patriarch of the Trump family
• Johann Joachim Winckelmann, art historian and archaeologist
• Karl Witte, jurist and scholar of Dante Alighieri
• Carl Zeiss, maker of optical instruments, founded Carl Zeiss AG
• Friedrich Heinrich Zinckgraf, gallery owner

  More lists of Germans

• 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