List of Germans

This is a list of notable Germans. Persons of mixed heritage have their respective ancestries credited.

Architects

• 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

A–M

• Hans von Aachen (1552–1615), mannerist painter
• Albrecht Altdorfer (1480–1538), painter
• Gertrud Arndt (1903–2000), photographer; pioneering self-portraiture
• Thomas Anders (born 1963), singer, songwriter and producer
• Ernst Barlach (1870–1938), sculptor and writer
• Günther Behnisch (1922–2010), architect
• Peter Behrens (1868–1940), architect
• Sibylle Bergemann (1941–2010), photographer
• Joseph Beuys (1921–1986), artist
• Hermann Biow (1804–1850), photographer
• Elisabeth Böhm (1921–2012), architect
• Gottfried Böhm (1920–2021), architect
• 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
• Leon Draisaitl (born 1995), ice hockey player of the Edmonton Oilers
• Albrecht Dürer (1471–1528), painter
• Egon Eiermann (1904–1970), architect and designer
• Max Ernst (1891–1976), surrealist painter
• Carl Eytel (1862–1925), painter of desert landscapes in the American Southwest
• Caspar David Friedrich (1774–1840), painter
• Dörte Gatermann (born 1956), architect
• Willi Glasauer (born 1938), artist
• Walter Gropius (1883–1969), architect
• George Grosz (1893–1959), artist
• Matthias Grünewald (c. 1470 – 1528), German Renaissance painter
• Johann Gottlieb Hantzsch (1794–1848), painter (genre works)
• Bettina Heinen-Ayech (1937–2020), painter
• Hannah Höch (1889–1978), artist
• Hans Holbein the Elder (c. 1465 – 1524), painter
• Hans Holbein the Younger (c. 1497 – 1543), illustrator and painter
• Jörg Immendorff (1945–2007), painter
• Helmut Jahn (1940–2021), architect and designer
• Horst Janssen (1929–1995), draftsman, graphic artist, woodcutter, watercolour painter, writer
• Ulli Kampelmann (born 1952), sculptor and painter
• Anselm Kiefer (born 1945), painter
• Martin Kippenberger (1953–1997), painter
• Ernst Ludwig Kirchner (1880–1938), painter
• Leo von Klenze (1784–1864), architect
• Hans Kollhoff (born 1946), architect
• Käthe Kollwitz (1867–1945), painter
• Christian Lemmerz (born 1959), sculptor and scenographer
• Max Liebermann (1847–1935), painter
• Markus Lüpertz (born 1941), painter and sculptor
• August Macke (1887–1914), painter
• Harro Magnussen (1861–1908), sculptor
• Franz Marc (1880–1916), painter
• Hans Memling (c. 1430 – 1494), painter
• Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (1886–1969), architect and designer
• Paula Modersohn-Becker (1876–1907), painter
• Georg Muche (1895–1987), painter, printmaker, architect, author and teacher
• Bill Kaulitz (born 1989), songwriter, composer, singer-songwriter, voice actor, film producer, and lyricist
• Tom Kaulitz (born 1989), songwriter, singer-songwriter, guitarist, pianist, voice actor, film producer, and lyricist
• Georg Listing (born 1987), bassist and pianist
• Gustav Schäfer (born 1988), musician and drummer

N–Z

• Helmut Newton (1920–2004), photographer
• Frei Otto (1925–2015), architect and research scientist
• Max Pechstein (1881–1955), painter
• Sigmar Polke (1941–2010), painter
• Gerhard Richter (born 1932), painter
• Julius Runge (1843–1922), marine painter
• Karl Friedrich Schinkel, architect and painter
• Oskar Schlemmer (1888–1943), choreographer, painter, sculptor and stage designer
• Eberhard Schlotter (1921–2014), painter
• Karl Schmidt-Rottluff (1884–1976), painter
• Kurt Schwitters, painter and poet
• Fritz Schumacher (1869–1947), architect and urban designer
• Max Slevogt, painter
• Carl Spitzweg (1808–1885), painter
• Birgit Stauch (born 1961), sculptor
• Fritz Stoltenberg (1855–1921), landscape artist and marine painter
• Franz Stuck (1863–1928), painter
• Yigal Tumarkin (1933–2021), Israeli painter and sculptor
• Wolf Vostell (1932–1998), artist
• Bertha Wehnert-Beckmann (1815–1901), pioneering female photographer
• Emilie Winkelmann (1875–1951), architect

Company founders

A–M

• Karl Albrecht (1920–2014) and Theo Albrecht (1922–2010), founder of Aldi
• Ludwig Bamberger (1823–1899), co-founder of Deutsche Bank
• John Jacob Bausch (1830–1926), co-founder of Bausch & Lomb, makers of contact lenses and Ray-Ban sunglasses
• Friedrich Bayer (1825–1880), founder of what would become Bayer, chemical and pharmaceutical company
• Hans Beck (1929–2009), founder of Playmobil
• Paul Beiersdorf (1836–1896), founded Beiersdorf AG, manufacturers of Nivea, Eucerin
• Melitta Bentz (1873–1950), invented the coffee filter and started Melitta, manufacturers of coffee, paper coffee filters and coffee makers
• Karl Benz (1844–1929), inventor of the gasoline-powered automobile; co-founder of the automobile manufacturer Mercedes-Benz
• Maximilian Delphinius Berlitz (1852–1921), founder of Berlitz Language Schools
• Carl Bertelsmann (1791–1850), founder of Bertelsmann AG, subsidiaries include Random House and BMG
• Johann Adam Birkenstock, in 1774 founded Birkenstock shoe company
• Hermann Blohm (1848–1930), in 1877, co-founder of Blohm+Voss, manufacturer of ships
• Carl F. W. Borgward (1890–1963), founder of Borgward
• August Borsig (1804–1854), founder of Borsig Werke
• Robert Bosch (1861–1942), industrialist, engineer and inventor; founder of Robert Bosch GmbH
• Hugo Boss (1885–1948), fashion designer, founder of Hugo Boss
• Max Braun (1883–1967), founder of Braun GmbH, makers of personal care appliances, coffee makers and other home appliances
• Adolphus Busch (1839–1913), co-founder of Anheuser-Busch brewing company
• Adolph Coors (1847–1929), founder of the Adolph Coors Company brewery, now part of MillerCoors
• Gottlieb Daimler (1834–1900), inventor and engineer; founder of Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft, now Daimler-Benz AG
• Adolf Dassler (1900–1978), founder of sportswear company Adidas
• Rudolf Dassler (1898–1974), founder of sportwear company Puma
• Adelbert Delbrück (1822–1899), co-founder of Deutsche Bank
• Guido Henckel von Donnersmarck (1830–1916), founder of company Schlesische AG für Bergbau und Zinkhüttenbetrieb
• Claude Dornier (1884–1969), founder of Dornier Flugzeugwerke
• Friedrich Engelhorn (1821–1902), founder of the chemical company BASF
• Kaspar Faber (1730–1784), founder of Faber-Castell, manufacturers of office supplies, art supplies, writing instruments and leather goods
• Günther Fielmann (1939–2024), founder of Fielmann
• Wilhelm von Finck (1848–1924), co-founder of Munich Re and Allianz
• Eduard Fresenius (1874–1946), founder of Fresenius
• Jakob Fugger the Elder (1368–1469), founder of Fugger bank
• Marcus Goldman (1821–1904), co-founder of Goldman Sachs
• Max Grundig (1908–1989), founder of Grundig
• Max Herz (1905–1965), co-founder of Tchibo
• Ernst Heinkel (1888–1958), founder of Heinkel, manufacturer of airplanes
• Richard Hellmann (1876–1971), founder of Hellmann's Mayonnaise
• Friedrich Karl Henkel (1848–1930), founder of Henkel
• J.A. Henckels, manufacturers of kitchen knives, scissors, cookware and flatware
• August Horch (1868–1951), founder of Audi automobile company in 1909
• Helmut Horten (1909–1987), founder of Horten AG
• August Howaldt (1809–1883), founder of Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft in 1835
• Hugo Junkers (1859–1935), founder of Junkers, manufacturer of airplanes in 1895
• Rudolph Karstadt (1856–1944), founder of Karstadt
• Ernst Keil (1816–1878), founder and publisher of Die Gartenlaube
• Carl Kellner (1826–1855), founder of Ernst Leitz GmbH, which later became Leica Camera AG, Leica Geosystems AG, and Leica Microsystems AG, producing cameras, geosurvey equipment and microscopes
• Peter Klöckner (1863–1940), founder of Klöckner-Humboldt-Deutz AG and Klöckner & Co
• Carl Heinrich Theodor Knorr (1800–1875) founder of Knorr
• Friedrich Krupp (1787–1826), steel manufacturer and founder of the steel producers ThyssenKrupp
• Heinrich Lanz (1838–1905), founder of Heinrich Lanz AG
• Henry Lehman (1822–1855), Emanuel Lehman (1827–1907) and Mayer Lehman (1830–1897), German-born bankers, co-founders of Lehman Brothers
• Carl von Linde (1842–1934), founder of The Linde Group
• Henry Lomb (1828–1908), co-founder of Bausch & Lomb
• Friedrich Lürssen (1851–1916), founder of Lürssen in 1875, manufacturers of ships
• Oscar Ferdinand Mayer (1859–1955), founder of the processed-meat firm Oscar Mayer
• Joseph Mendelssohn (1770–1848), founder of former bank Mendelssohn & Co.
• Friedrich Jacob Merck (1621–1678), founder of Merck KGaA (Engel-Apotheke in Darmstadt)
• George Merck (1867–1926), founder of Merck & Co.
• Willy Messerschmitt (1875–1978), founder of Messerschmitt, airplane manufacturer
• Heinrich Meyerfreund, founder of Garoto, chocolate company in Brazil
• Carl Miele (1869–1938), founder of Miele, manufacturer of domestic appliances
• Frederick Miller (born as Friedrich Eduard Johannes Müller) (1824–1888), founder of the Miller Brewing Company in 1855

N–Z

• Josef Neckermann (1912–1992), founder of the company Neckermann
• August Oetker (1862–1918), founder of the company Dr Oetker
• Adam Opel (1837–1895), founder of the automobile company Opel
• Salomon Oppenheim (1772–1828), founder of bank Sal. Oppenheim
• Ernest Oppenheimer (1880–1957), diamond and gold mining entrepreneur, financier and philanthropist, who controlled De Beers and founded the Anglo American Corporation of South Africa
• Werner Otto (1909–2011), founder of Otto GmbH, now Otto Group, a mail order company
• Ferdinand Porsche (1875–1951), designer and founder of Porsche
• Günther Quandt (1881–1954), industrial, entrepreneur of different companies (today includes BMW and Altana)
• Karl Friedrich Rapp (1882–1962), co-founder of Rapp Motorenwerke GmbH, which later became BMW
• Emil Rathenau (1838–1915), founder of AEG
• Paul Reuter (1816–1899), pioneer of telegraphy and news reporting; founder of Reuters news agency
• Hans Riegel, Sr. (1893–1945), founder of Haribo, manufacturer of gummy and jelly sweets
• Nathan Mayer Rothschild (1777–1836), founder of British company N M Rothschild & Sons
• Hugo Sack (1860–1909), cofounder of Sack & Kiesselbach and founder of Sack, GmbH
• Ernst Christian Friedrich Schering (1824–1889), founder of the pharmaceutical company Schering AG
• Gustav Schickedanz (1895–1977), founder of Quelle
• Anton Schlecker (born 1944), founder of Schlecker
• Ernst Schmidt and Wilhelm Schmidt-Ruthenbeck (1906–1988), founders of Metro AG
• Fritz Sennheiser (1912–2010), founder of Sennheiser Electronic GmbH & Co. KG, specializing in high fidelity products
• Georg von Siemens (1839–1901), co-founder of Deutsche Bank
• Werner von Siemens (1816–1892), inventor, founder of Siemens, electronics and electrical engineering company
• Axel Springer (1912–1985), publisher, founder of Axel Springer SE
• J.S. Staedtler, in 1835 founded Staedtler Mars GmbH & Co. KG, suppliers of writing, artist, and engineering drawing instruments
• Bruno Steinhoff (born 1937), founder of Steinhoff
• Henry E. Steinway (1797–1871), founder of the piano company Steinway & Sons
• Hugo Stinnes (1870–1924), co-founder of Rheinisch-Westfälisches Elektrizitätswerk AG
• August Storck-Oberwelland, in 1903 founder of Werther's Sugar Confectionery Factory, now August Storck AG
• Franz Ströher (born c. 1854–1936), in 1880 founded cosmetics company Wella
• Carl Tchilinghiryan (1910–1987), co-founder of Tchibo
• Carl von Thieme (1844–1924), founder of Allianz, financial services company
• August Thyssen (1842–1926), founder of Walzwerk Thyssen & Co. in Mülheim an der Ruhr
• Friedrich Thyssen (1804–1877), founder of Draht-Fabrik-Compagnie in Aachen
• Hermann Tietz (1837–1907), founder of Hertie, department store
• Leopold Ullstein (1826–1899), founder of publishing company Ullstein Verlag
• Ernst Voss (1842–1920), in 1877, co-founder of Blohm+Voss, manufacturer of ships
• Carl Walther (1858–1915), founder of Walther
• Moses Marcus Warburg (1763–1820) and Gershon Warburg (1765–1826), co-founder of M. M. Warburg & Co., German bank
• Siegmund Warburg, founder of S. G. Warburg & Co., British bank
• Bartholomeus V. Welser (1484–1561), Welser brothers bank
• Georg Wertheim (1857–1939), founder of Wertheim, department store
• Stef Wertheimer (1926–2025), German-born Israeli industrialist, investor, philanthropist, billionaire and Member of the Knesset
• Aloys Wobben (1952–2021), founder of Enercon
• Reinhold Würth (born 1935), company Würth
• Carl Zeiss (1816–1888), founder of Zeiss, maker of optical instruments
• Ferdinand von Zeppelin (1838–1917), inventor of the Zeppelin; founder of the Zeppelin Airship company

Fashion models

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

Fashionmakers

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

Film and theatre

Actresses and actors

A–M

• Inga Abel (1946–2000), actress
• Mario Adorf (born 1930), actor and writer
• Hans Albers (1891–1960), actor
• Iris Berben (born 1950), actress
• Moritz Bleibtreu (born 1971), actor
• Grit Boettcher (born 1938), actress
• Eric Braeden (born Hans Gudegast, 1941), actor
• Daniel Brühl (born 1978), actor
• Horst Buchholz (1933–2003), actor
• Vicco von Bülow (also known as Loriot), actor and comedian
• Zazie Beetz (born 1991), German born American actress
• Hans Clarin (1930–2005), actor
• August Diehl (born 1976), actor
• Marlene Dietrich (1901–1992), actress
• George Dzundza (born 1945), actor
• Heinz Erhardt (1909–1979), actor and comedian
• Veronica Ferres (born 1965), actress
• Gert Fröbe (1913–1988), actor
• Cornelia Froboess (born 1943), actress
• Martina Gedeck (born 1961), actress
• Götz George (1938–2016), actor
• Heinrich George (1893–1946), actor
• Gustaf Gründgens (1899–1963), actor
• Eva Habermann (born 1976), actress and model
• Evelyn Hamann (1942–2007), actress
• Brigitte Helm (1908–1996), actress
• Henriette Hendel-Schütz (1772–1849), stage actress, mimoplastic performer
• Michael Herbig (born 1968), actor, director and comedian
• Emil Jannings (1884–1950), actor
• Harald Juhnke (1929–2005), actor and comedian
• Heidi Kabel (1914–2010), actress
• Klaus Kinski (1926–1991), actor; Polish-German father, German mother
• Nastassja Kinski (born 1959), actress; daughter of actor Klaus Kinski
• Heidi Klum (born 1973), model and actress
• Hildegard Knef (1925–2002), actress, singer and writer
• Sebastian Koch (born 1962), actor
• Thomas Kretschmann (born 1962), actor and model
• Diane Kruger (born 1976), actress and model
• Alexandra Maria Lara (born 1978), actress
• Martin Lawrence (born 1965), actor
• Siegfried Lowitz (1914–1999),actor
• Heike Makatsch (born 1971), actress
• Hanna Maron (1923–2014), Israeli actress
• Inge Meysel (1910–2004), actress
• Brigitte Mira (1910–2005), actress
• Willy Millowitsch (1909–1999), actor
• Ulrich Mühe (1953–2007), actor
• Armin Mueller-Stahl (born 1930), actor

N–Z

• Luise Neumann (1818–1905)
• Uwe Ochsenknecht (born 1956), actor
• Christian Oliver (1972–2024), actor
• Lilli Palmer (1914–1986), actress
• Franka Potente (born 1974), actress
• Jürgen Prochnow (born 1941), actor
• Luise Rainer (1910–2014), actress
• Heinz Rühmann (1902–1994), actor
• Otto Sander (1941–2013), actor
• Claudia Schiffer (born 1970), actress and supermodel
• Romy Schneider (1938–1982), actress
• Jessica Schwarz (born 1977), actress
• Til Schweiger (born 1963), actor
• Matthias Schweighöfer (born 1981), actor
• Hanna Schygulla (born 1943), actress
• Xenia Seeberg (born 1972), actress and model
• Tomer Sisley (born 1974), Israeli humorist, actor, screenwriter, comedian, and film director
• Kristina Söderbaum (1912–2001), actress and photographer
• Günter Strack (1929–1999), actor
• Barbara Sukowa (born 1950), actress
• Horst Tappert (1923–2008), actor
• Katharina Thalbach (born 1954), actress
• Nora Tschirner (born 1981), actress
• Ulrich Tukur (born 1957), actor
• Nadja Uhl (born 1972), actress
• Wolfgang Völz (1930–2018), actor
• Fritz Wepper (1941–2024), actor
• Luise del Zopp (1871–1946), actress, opera singer, screenwriter

Filmmakers

• Uwe Boll, film director
• Andreas Deja, animator
• Doris Dörrie, female film director
• Bernd Eichinger (1949–2011), film producer
• Roland Emmerich (born 1955), film director (Stargate, Independence Day, Godzilla, The Day After Tomorrow)
• Harun Farocki (1944–2014), film director
• Rainer Werner Fassbinder (1945–1982), film director
• Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, film director; Academy Award winner
• Werner Herzog (born 1942), film director
• Oliver Hirschbiegel, film director
• Alexander Kluge (born 1932), film director
• Carl Koch (1892–1963), film director and writer
• Fritz Lang (1890–1976), film director
• Ernst Lubitsch (1892–1947), film director
• F.W. Murnau (1888–1931), film director
• Wolfgang Petersen (1941–2022), film director
• Ashwin Raman (born 1946), documentary filmmaker
• Leni Riefenstahl (1902–2003), female film director
• Helma Sanders-Brahms (1940–2014), film director
• Peter Schamoni (1934–2011), film director
• Volker Schlöndorff (born 1939), film director
• Andreas Schnaas (born 1968), film director
• Hans-Jürgen Syberberg (born 1935), film director
• Tom Tykwer (born 1965), film director
• Margarethe von Trotta (born 1942), film director
• Robert Wiene, film director
• Wim Wenders (born 1945), film director
• William Wyler, (1902–1981), film director

Literature

Classic

• Adam of Bremen (c. 1050 – c. 1085), medieval chronicler
• Joseph von Auffenberg (1798–1857), dramatist
• Heinrich Böll (1917–1985), author
• Bertolt Brecht (1898–1956), playwright and poet
• Clemens Brentano (1778–1842), poet and novelist
• Georg Büchner, dramatist and author
• Charles Bukowski (1920–1994), German-born American poet, novelist, and short story writer
• Wilhelm Busch (1832–1908), poet and satirist
• Annette von Droste-Hülshoff (1797–1848), poet
• Joseph von Eichendorff (1788–1857), poet
• Theodor Fontane (1819–1898), novelist and poet
• Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832), author and poet
• Brothers Grimm, collectors of fairy tales
• Heinrich Heine (1797–1856), poet
• Johann Gottfried Herder (1744–1803), essayist and poet
• Hermann Hesse (1877–1962), author
• E.T.A. Hoffmann (1776–1822), author
• Friedrich Hölderlin (1770–1843), poet
• Ernst Jünger (1895–1998), writer and novelist
• Erich Kästner (1899–1974), novelist
• Heinrich von Kleist (1777–1811), poet, dramatist and novelist
• Gotthold Lessing (1729–1781), writer
• Heinrich Mann (1871–1950), author (brother of Thomas Mann)
• Thomas Mann (1875–1955), author (brother of Heinrich Mann)
• Karl May (1842–1912), author
• Theodor Mommsen (1817–1903), A history of Rome
• Christian Morgenstern (1871–1914), poet
• Novalis (1772–1801), poet and novelist
• Erich Maria Remarque (1898–1970), novelist
• Friedrich Schiller (1759–1805), poet and playwright
• Arno Schmidt (1914–1979), writer
• Theodor Storm (1817–1888), author
• Kurt Tucholsky (1890–1935), writer and satirist
• Walter von der Vogelweide (c. 1170 – c. 1230), poet
• Christa Wolf (1929–2011), novelist and essayist
• Wolfram von Eschenbach (died 1220), poet

Major

• Yehuda Amichai (born Ludwig Pfeuffer; 1924–2000), German-born Israeli poet
• Ernst Moritz Arndt, poet, songwriter and patriot
• Achim von Arnim (1781–1831), poet
• Bettina von Arnim (1785–1859), writer and novelist
• Ezriel Carlebach (1909–1956), Israeli journalist and editorial writer
• Matthias Claudius (1740–1815), poet and writer
• Michael Ende (1929–1995), author of fantasy novels and children's books
• Erik Erikson (1902–1994), German-American writer, developmental psychologist and psychoanalyst
• Anne Frank (1929–1945), diarist and victim of the Holocaust
• Paul Gerhardt (c. 1606 – 1676), hymn writer
• Leah Goldberg (1911–1970), Israeli poet
• Joseph Görres (1776–1848), essayist
• Wilhelm Hauff (1802–1827), writer
• Paul Heyse (1830–1914), writer and translator
• Janosch (born 1931), author of artist and children's books
• Friedrich Kellner (1885–1970), diarist of My Opposition
• Golo Mann (1909–1994), author and historian (second-oldest son of Thomas Mann)
• Klaus Mann (1906–1949), author (oldest son of Thomas Mann)
• Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué (1777–1843), writer
• Prince Hermann von Pückler-Muskau (1785–1871), writer and landscape gardener
• Otfried Preussler (1923–2013), author of children's books
• Wilhelm Raabe (1831–1910), novelist
• Peter Rühmkorf (1929–2008), poet
• Nelly Sachs (1891–1970), poet
• Leopold Schefer (1784–1861), writer, poet and composer
• August Wilhelm Schlegel (1767–1845), poet and translator
• Ludwig Tieck (1773–1853), poet, editor and novelist
• Ludwig Uhland (1787–1862), poet, writer and playwright
• Gero von Wilpert (1933–2009), essayist

Contemporary

• Hans Magnus Enzensberger (1929–2022), essayist and poet
• Günter Grass (1927–2015), author; recipient, 1999 Nobel Prize in Literature
• Peter Härtling (1933–2017), author
• Rolf Hochhuth (1931–2020), playwright
• Wladimir Kaminer (born 1967), short story writer
• Daniel Kehlmann (born 1975), novelist
• Siegfried Lenz (1926–2014), author
• Ferdinand von Schirach (born 1964), author, screenwriter and lawyer
• Bernhard Schlink (born 1944), author and professor of law
• Patrick Süskind (born 1949), author and screenwriter
• Rudolf von Waldenfels (born 1965), author
• Martin Walser (1927–2023), playwright and novelist

Humorists, cabaret performers and comedians

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

Journalists

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

Mathematicians

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

Military

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

Music

Composers

• Carl Friedrich Abel (1725–1787), composer
• Martin Agricola (1466–1506), composer
• Siegfried Alkan (1858–1941), composer
• Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (1714–1788), composer; son of Johann Sebastian Bach
• Johann Christian Bach (1735–1782), composer; son of Johann Sebastian Bach
• Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750), composer
• Klaus Badelt (born 1967), film composer (', Miami Vice, Ultraviolet, 2008 Summer Olympics closing ceremony in Beijing)
• Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827), composer
• Martin Böttcher (1927–2019), film composer (Karl May film adaptations)
• Johannes Brahms (1833–1897), composer
• Max Bruch (1838–1920), composer
• Dieterich Buxtehude (c. 1637/39–1707), Danish-German organist and composer of the Baroque period
• Hanns Eisler (1898–1962), composer
• Friedrich von Flotow (1812–1883), composer
• Christoph Willibald Gluck (1714–1787), composer
• Georg Friedrich Händel (1685–1759), composer, opera composer
• Fanny Hensel (1805–1847), composer
• Paul Hindemith (1895–1963), composer
• Engelbert Humperdinck (1854–1921), composer
• Albert Lortzing (1801–1851), composer
• Giacomo Meyerbeer (1791–1864), composer
• Felix Mendelssohn (1809–1847), composer
• Leopold Mozart (1719–1787), composer, conductor, teacher, and violinist; father of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
• Jacques Offenbach (1819–1880), composer
• Carl Orff (1895–1982), composer
• Johann Pachelbel (1653–1706), composer
• Hans Pfitzner (1869–1949), composer
• Max Reger (1873–1916), composer
• Wolfgang Rihm (1952–2024), composer
• Leopold Schefer (1784–1862), writer and composer
• Clara Schumann (1819–1896), composer
• Robert Schumann (1810–1856), composer and songwriter
• Heinrich Schütz (1585–1672), composer
• Charlotte Seither (born 1965), classical composer, pianist and music educator
• Karlheinz Stockhausen (1928–2007), modern composer
• Richard Strauss (1864–1949), composer, opera composer
• Georg Philipp Telemann (1681–1767), composer
• Richard Wagner (1813–1883), composer
• Carl Maria von Weber (1786–1826), composer
• Kurt Weill (1900–1950), composer (The Threepenny Opera, "September Song")
• Hans Zimmer (born 1957), film composer (The Lion King, Crimson Tide, Gladiator, The Dark Knight, Inception, Dune)

Conductors, instrumentalists and singers

A–M

• Hans Albers (1891–1960), singer and actor
• Thomas Anders (born 1963), singer
• Lale Andersen (1905–1972), singer
• Lou Bega (born 1975), singer
• Andrea Berg (born 1966), singer-songwriter
• Wolf Biermann (born 1936), singer-songwriter and East German dissident
• Dieter Bohlen (born 1954), music producer
• Andreas Bourani (born 1983), singer-songwriter
• Hans-Jürgen Buchner (born 1944), founder, composer, songwriter of the band Haindling
• Fritz Busch (1890–1951), conductor
• Bushido (born 1978), rapper
• Campino (born 1962), lead singer of the band Die Toten Hosen
• Yvonne Catterfeld (born 1979), singer
• Sarah Connor (born 1980), pop and soul singer
• Michael (born 1957) and Sandra Cretu (born 1962), founders and performers of the musical project Enigma and the group Sandra
• Diana Damrau (born 1971), coloratura soprano opera singer
• Marlene Dietrich (1901–1992), singer
• Herbert Dreilich (1942–2004), singer of the Band Karat
• Jürgen Drews (born 1945), singer
• Katja Ebstein (born 1945), singer
• Fancy (born 1946), singer
• Frank Farian (1941–2024), German record producer and songwriter
• Helene Fischer (born 1984), singer
• Gertrude Förstel (1880–1950), operatic soprano, voice teacher
• Peter Fox (born 1971), singer
• Thekla Friedländer (1849–?), soprano and social reformer
• Wilhelm Furtwängler (1886–1954), conductor and composer
• Rex Gildo (1936–1999), singer
• Bernd Heinrich Graf, lead singer of the Band Unheilig
• Antye Greie (born 1969), vocalist, musician and composer
• Herbert Grönemeyer (born 1956), singer
• Gudrun Gut (born 1957), electronic musician
• Nina Hagen (born 1955), singer
• Heino (born 1938), pop singer
• Willy Hess (1859–1939), violinist
• Natalie Horler (born 1981), member of the band Cascada
• Annette Humpe (born 1950), singer of the bands Ideal and Ich + Ich
• Matthias Jabs (born 1955), guitarist of the band Scorpions
• Roland Kaiser (born 1952), singer
• Bill Kaulitz (born 1989), lead singer of the band Tokio Hotel
• John Kay (musician) (born 1944), German–Canadian musician
• Zah1de (born 2010), rapper
• Jonas Kaufmann (born 1969), operatic tenor
• Gershon Kingsley (1922–2019), composer
• Alexander Klaws (born 1983), singer
• Hildegard Knef (1925–2002), singer
• Peter Kraus (born 1939), singer
• Mike Kogel (born 1944), lead singer of the band Los Bravos
• Rolf Köhler (1951–2007), singer, musician and record producer
• Paul Kuhn (1928–2013), band leader and singer
• LaFee (born 1990), singer
• Ute Lemper (born 1963), singer
• Udo Lindenberg (born 1946), singer
• Michail Lifits (born 1982), concert pianist
• Till Lindemann (born 1963), lead singer of the band Rammstein
• Georg Listing, bassist of the band Tokio Hotel
• Frida Lyngstad (born 1945), lead singer of the pop group ABBA
• Peter Maffay (born 1949), singer
• Klaus Meine (born 1948), vocalist of the band Scorpions
• Reinhard Mey (born 1942)
• Lena Meyer-Landrut (born 1991), singer
• Marius Müller-Westernhagen (born 1948), singer
• Karl Münchinger (1915–1990), conductor
• Anne-Sophie Mutter (born 1963), violinist

N–Z

• Xavier Naidoo (born 1971)
• Meshell Ndegeocello (born 1969), born of American parents in Germany
• Nena (born 1960)
• Nicole (born 1964), singer
• Klaus Nomi (1944–1983)
• Lisa Otto (1919–2013), opera singer
• Hedwig Reicher-Kindermann (1853–1883), opera singer
• Martin Rich (1905–2000), conductor and pianist
• Marianne Rosenberg (born 1955), singer-songwriter
• Anneliese Rothenberger (1924–2010), singer
• Ralph Siegel (born 1945), senior songwriter
• Sandra (born 1962), singer
• Kool Savas (born 1975), half German, half Turkish singer
• Gustav Schäfer, drummer of the band Tokio Hotel
• Michael Schenker (born 1955), guitar player of band UFO and solo career
• Florian Silbereisen (born 1981), singer, tv host
• Rudolf Schenker (born 1948), guitarist of the band Scorpions; brother of Michael Schenker
• Peter Schilling (born 1956), singer
• Sido (born 1980), rapper
• Cassandra Steen (born 1980), German-American singer-songwriter, and voice actress
• Farin Urlaub (born 1963), lead singer of the band Die Ärzte
• Lena Valaitis (born 1943), singer
• Paul van Dyk (born 1971), DJ, musician and record producer
• Hannes Wader (born 1943), singer-songwriter
• Claire Waldoff (1884–1957), singer
• Bruno Walter (1876–1962), conductor and composer
• Konstantin Wecker (born 1947), singer-songwriter

Philosophy

Classic

• Theodor Adorno (1903–1969), philosopher, sociologist and composer
• Albertus Magnus (c. 1193 – 1280), medieval philosopher and theologian
• Hannah Arendt (1906–1975), political theorist
• Walter Benjamin (1892–1943)
• Ernst Bloch (1885–1977)
• Jakob Böhme (1575–1624), mystic philosopher
• Franz Brentano (1838–1917), philosopher and psychologist
• Rudolf Carnap (1891–1970), philosopher
• Ernst Cassirer (1874–1945)
• Wilhelm Dilthey (1833–1911), philosopher, historian, psychologist
• Ludwig Feuerbach (1804–1872), philosopher
• Johann Gottlieb Fichte (1762–1814), philosopher
• Gottlob Frege (1848–1925), mathematician, logician and philosopher
• Eduard von Hartmann (1842–1906), philosopher
• Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770–1831), philosopher
• Martin Heidegger (1889–1976), philosopher
• Max Horkheimer (1895–1973)
• Edmund Husserl (1859–1938), philosopher
• Karl Jaspers (1883–1969), philosopher
• Immanuel Kant (1724–1804), philosopher
• Gottfried Leibniz (1646–1716), physicist, philosopher
• Karl Marx (1818–1883), philosopher and sociologist
• Moses Mendelssohn (1729–1786), philosopher
• Lorenz Christoph Mizler (1711–1778), philosopher active in Poland
• Nikolaus Cusanus (1401–1462), philosopher, theologian, mathematician
• Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900), early existentialist philosopher
• Friedrich Schelling (1775–1854), philosopher
• Moritz Schlick (1882–1936), philosopher
• Arthur Schopenhauer (1788–1860), philosopher
• Christian Wolff (1679–1754), philosopher

Major

• Bruno Bauer (1809–1882), political theorist and philosopher
• Friedrich Engels (1820–1895), philosopher, political economist
• Rudolf Christoph Eucken (1846–1926), philosopher
• Erich Fromm (1900–1980)
• Hans-Georg Gadamer (1900–2002), philosopher
• Wilhelm von Humboldt (1767–1835), philosopher, linguist, government functionary, diplomat; brother of Alexander von Humboldt
• Ludwig Klages (1872–1956), philosopher
• Leo Löwenthal (1900–1993)
• Karl Löwith (1897–1973)
• Herbert Marcuse (1898–1979)
• Samuel von Pufendorf (1632–1694), moral and political philosopher
• Johann Karl Friedrich Rosenkranz (1805–1879)
• Franz Rosenzweig (1886–1929)
• Max Scheler (1874–1928), philosopher
• Carl Schmitt (1888–1985), political theorist
• Georg Simmel (1859–1918), philosopher and sociologist
• Max Stirner (1806–1856), philosopher
• Carl Friedrich von Weizsäcker (1912–2007), philosopher and physicist

Contemporary

• Hans Albert (1921–2023), philosopher
• Kurt Flasch (born 1930), philosopher
• Jürgen Habermas (1929–2026), philosopher, social theorist
• Dieter Henrich (1927–2022), philosopher
• Odo Marquard (1928–2015), philosopher
• Julian Nida-Rümelin (born 1954), philosopher and political theorist
• Konrad Ott (born 1959), moral philosopher and environmentalist
• Peter Sloterdijk (born 1947), philosopher and television host
• Robert Spaemann (1927–2018), philosopher
• Oswald Spengler (1880–1936), philosopher of history; best known for his book "The Decline of the West" (Der Untergang des Abendlandes)
• Ernst Tugendhat (1930–2023), philosopher

Politicians

Miscellaneous

• Rainer Barzel (1924–2006), leader of the party Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU)
• August Bebel (1840–1913), co-founder of the Social Democratic Party of Germany
• Rudolf von Bennigsen (1824–1902), founder of the National Liberal Party
• Eduard Bernstein (1850–1932), Social Democratic leader
• Heinrich von Brentano (1904–1964), Foreign Minister Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU)
• Julius Curtius (1877–1948), Foreign Minister (German People's Party)
• Matthias Erzberger (1875–1921), Catholic Center party leader
• Joschka Fischer (born 1948), Foreign Minister and vice chancellor 1998–2005 (Bündnis 90/Die Grünen)
• Heinrich Karl Fricke (1884–1945), diplomat, businessperson, and spy
• Hans-Dietrich Genscher (1927–2016), former minister for foreign affairs (FDP)
• Jakob Grimm (1785–1863), parliamentarian
• Wilhelm Grimm (1786–1859), parliamentarian
• Gregor Gysi (born 1948), former leader of the Party of Democratic Socialism
• Georg Hornstein (1900–1942), resistance fighter during the period of National Socialism (Nazism)
• Alfred Hugenberg (1865–1951), leader of the German National People's Party
• Johann Jacoby (1805–1877), radical democrat in Prussia
• Luise Kähler (1869–1955), trade union leader, founding member of Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED)
• Karl Kautsky (1854–1938), Social Democratic leader and theoretician
• Petra Kelly (1947–1992), co-founder of the German Green Party
• Roland Koch (born 1958), Minister-President of Hesse
• Oskar Lafontaine (born 1943), socialist, former minister for finance
• Ferdinand Lassalle (1825–1864), democrat and socialist
• Karl Liebknecht (1871–1919), socialist
• Wilhelm Liebknecht (1826–1900), co-founder of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD)
• Rosa Luxemburg (1870–1919), left-wing Social Democratic leader
• Gudrun Masloch (born 1969), German ambassador to Latvia
• Jakob Maria Mierscheid (born 1933), virtual parliamentarian (SPD)
• Hans Modrow (1928–2023), former leader of GDR, honorary chairman of PDS
• Hermann Müller (1876–1931), Chancellor of the Weimar Republic (SPD)
• Erich Ollenhauer (1901–1963), leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD)
• Antonie "Toni" Pfülf (1877–1933), female socialist (SPD)
• Walther Rathenau (1867–1922), foreign minister (DDP)
• Eugen Richter (1838–1906), liberal politician
• Wolfgang Schäuble (1942–2023), Christian politician, financial minister (CDU)
• Carlo Schmid (1896–1979), politician who had vast influence on the content of the German Basic Law after World War II
• Gerhard Schröder (1910–1989), foreign minister, minister of the Interior (CDU)
• Kurt Schumacher (1895–1952), leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany in the early years of the FRG
• Baron Heinrich vom Stein (1757–1831)
• Edmund Stoiber (born 1941), party leader of the CSU and former minister president of Bavaria
• Franz Josef Strauss (1915–1988), Bavarian politician (CSU)
• Ernst Thälmann (1886–1944), leader of the Communist Party of Germany during the Weimar period
• Hans-Jochen Vogel (1926–2020), leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), federal minister of justice
• Otto Wels (1873–1939), leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD)
• Guido Westerwelle (1961–2016), party leader of the liberal party (FDP)
• Klaus Wowereit (born 1953), social democrat politician (SPD)
• Clara Zetkin (1857–1933), socialist and fighter for women's rights
• Silke Grimm (born 1967), German politician

Chancellors of Germany 1871–1945

• Gustav Bauer (1870–1944), chancellor of the Weimar Republic (SPD)
• Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg (1856–1921), Imperial Chancellor
• Otto von Bismarck (1815–1898), Imperial Chancellor
• Heinrich Brüning (1885–1970), Chancellor of the Weimar Republic (Centre Party)
• Bernhard von Bülow (1849–1929), Imperial Chancellor
• Leo von Caprivi (1831–1899), Imperial Chancellor
• Wilhelm Cuno (1876–1933), Chancellor of the Weimar Republic
• Constantin Fehrenbach (1852–1926), Chancellor of the Weimar Republic (Centre)
• Georg von Hertling (1843–1919), Imperial Chancellor
• Adolf Hitler (1889–1945), Leader of Nazi Germany, combining legally the offices of President and Chancellor ("Führer und Reichskanzler") (1933–1945)

• Prince Chlodwig zu Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst (1819–1901), Imperial Chancellor
• Hans Luther (1885–1962), Chancellor of the Weimar Republic
• Wilhelm Marx (1863–1946), Chancellor of the Weimar Republic (Centre)
• Prince Maximilian of Baden (1867–1929), Last Imperial Chancellor
• Georg Michaelis (1857–1936), Imperial Chancellor
• Franz von Papen (1879–1969), Chancellor of the Weimar Republic
• Philipp Scheidemann (1865–1939), Chancellor of Weimar Republic (SPD)
• Kurt von Schleicher (1882–1934), last Chancellor of the Weimar Republic
• Gustav Stresemann (1878–1929), Chancellor of the Weimar Republic (DVP)
• Joseph Wirth (1879–1956), Chancellor of the Weimar Republic (Centre)

Chancellors of Germany (after World War II)

(in chronological order)

• Konrad Adenauer (1876–1967), first democratically elected Federal Chancellor in Western Germany (after World War II) from 1949 to 1963 (Christian-Democratic Union, CDU)
• Ludwig Erhard (1897–1977), Federal Chancellor from 1963 to 1966 (CDU)
• Kurt Georg Kiesinger (1904–1988), Federal Chancellor from 1966 to 1969 (CDU)
• Willy Brandt (1913–1992), Federal Chancellor from 1969 to 1974 (Social Democratic Party, SPD)
• Helmut Schmidt (1918–2015), Federal Chancellor from 1974 to 1982 (SPD)
• Helmut Kohl (1930–2017), Federal Chancellor from 1982 to 1998 (CDU)
• Gerhard Schröder (born 1944), Federal Chancellor from 1998 to 2005 (SPD)
• Angela Merkel (born 1954), Federal Chancellor from 2005 to 2021 (CDU)
• Olaf Scholz (born 1958), Federal Chancellor from 2021 to 2025 (SPD)
• Friedrich Merz (born 1955), Federal Chancellor since 2025 (CDU)

Presidents of Germany

(in chronological order)

• Friedrich Ebert (1871–1925), first president of the Weimar Republic (SPD) 1919–25
• Paul von Hindenburg (1847–1934), field marshal, president 1925–34
• Adolf Hitler (1889–1945), combining legally both offices, president and chancellor ("Führer und Reichskanzler") 1933–45
• Karl Dönitz (1891–1980), Admiral of the Fleet, after Hitler's death, president for 22 days, 1945

Presidents of the Federal Republic of Germany since 1949:<br /> (in chronological order)

• Theodor Heuss (1884–1963), Federal President 1949–59 (Liberal-Democratic Party, FDP)
• Heinrich Lübke (1894–1972), Federal President 1959–69 (CDU)
• Gustav Heinemann (1899–1976), Federal President 1969–74 (SPD)
• Walter Scheel (1919–2016), Federal President 1974–79 (FDP)
• Karl Carstens (1914–1992), Federal President 1979–84 (CDU)
• Richard von Weizsäcker (1920–2015), Federal President 1984–94 (CDU)
• Roman Herzog (1934–2017), Federal President 1994–99 (CDU)
• Johannes Rau (1931–2006), Federal President 1999–2004 (SPD)
• Horst Köhler (1943–2025), Federal President 2004–10 (CDU)
• Jens Böhrnsen (born 1949), acting president since resignation of Köhler in 2010 (SPD)
• Christian Wulff (born 1959), Federal President 2010–12 (CDU)
• Horst Seehofer (born 1949), acting president since resignation of Wulff in 2012 (CDU)
• Joachim Gauck (born 1940), Federal President 2012–2017 (Independent)
• Frank-Walter Steinmeier (born 1956) Federal President since 19 March 2017 (SPD)

Politicians of the East German Communist Party and regime

• Otto Grotewohl (1894–1964), minister president of the GDR
• Erich Honecker (1912–1994), leader of the GDR until 1989
• Egon Krenz (born 1937), leader of the GDR after Honecker
• Erich Mielke (1907–2000), head of the Stasi
• Wilhelm Pieck (1876–1960), first president of the GDR
• Heinrich Rau (1899–1961), chairman of the German Economic Commission (predecessor of the East German government)
• Günter Schabowski (1929–2015), member of politburo
• Willy Stoph (1914–1999), premier of the GDR
• Walter Ulbricht (1893–1973), leader of the GDR

Personalities of the Nazi Party and regime

• Artur Axmann (1913–1996), Hitler Youth leader (1940–1945)
• Klaus Barbie (1913–1991), the "Butcher of Lyon"
• Fedor von Bock (1880–1945), field marshal
• Martin Bormann (1900–1945), Nazi leader
• Eva Braun (1912–1945), Hitler's mistress and finally his wife
• Wilhelm Canaris (1887–1945), admiral and chief of the Abwehr
• Karl Dönitz (1891–1980), Admiral of the Fleet, briefly Hitler's successor as President
• Anton Drexler (1884–1942), founder of German Workers' Party, which became the NSDAP
• Adolf Eichmann (1906–1962), Nazi SS-Obersturmbannführer (lieutenant colonel)
• Hans Frank (1900–1946), Governor-General of Poland
• Roland Freisler (1893–1945), Nazi judge
• Wilhelm Frick (1877–1946), Minister of the Interior
• Walther Funk (1890–1960), Minister of Economics
• Joseph Goebbels (1897–1945), Chancellor of Germany, propaganda chief for the Nazis
• Hermann Göring (1893–1946), Nazi, Reich Marshal and chief of Luftwaffe
• Rudolf Hess (1894–1987), Hitler's private secretary, later Deputy Führer
• Reinhard Heydrich (1904–1942), Nazi officer, head of the Sicherheitsdienst and RSHA
• Heinrich Himmler (1900–1945), Nazi head of the SS
• Rudolf Höss (1901–1947), commandant of Auschwitz
• Ernst Kaltenbrunner (1903–1946), Heydrich's successor at the RSHA
• Hans Kammler (1901 – c. 1945), author and organiser of first Death Camps
• Wilhelm Keitel (1882–1946), field marshal, head of the OKW (1939–1945)
• Karl-Otto Koch (1897–1945), German first commandant of the Buchenwald concentration camp
• Robert Ley (1890–1945), head of the German Labour Front
• Erich von Manstein (1885–1973), field marshal and commander of the Eleventh Army (1941–1942), Army Group Don (1942–43), and Army Group South (1943–1944)
• Josef Mengele (1911–1979), German SS officer and a physician in the Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz
• Erhard Milch (1892–1972), Göring's second-in-command, Air Inspector General
• Walter Model (1891–1945), field marshal
• Heinrich Müller (1900–1945?), head of the Gestapo (1939–1945)
• Konstantin von Neurath (1873–1956), Foreign Minister in the early years of the regime
• Franz von Papen (1879–1969), Deputy Chancellor in Hitler's first cabinet
• Erich Raeder (1876–1960), Admiral of the Fleet
• Joachim von Ribbentrop (1893–1946), Nazi foreign minister
• Ernst Röhm (1887–1934), first Stabschef of the SA
• Erwin Rommel (1891–1944), Commander of the 7th Panzer Division and the Afrika Korps
• Alfred Rosenberg (1893–1946), Nazi ideologist
• Gerd von Rundstedt (1875–1953), field marshal, Commander-in-Chief East (1939–40), commander of Army Group South (1939–1941), Commander-in-Chief West (1942–1945)
• Hjalmar Schacht, Minister of Finance
• Baldur von Schirach (1907–1974), first Hitler Youth leader
• Albert Speer (1905–1981), "Hitler's architect", Minister of Armaments
• Gregor Strasser (1892–1934), left-wing Nazi leader
• Julius Streicher (1885–1946), Nazi Party leader in Franconia

Royalty

• Alix of Hesse and Rhine (1872–1918), German princess by birth before marrying Tsar Nicholas II to become a Russian tsarina
• Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (1819–1861), Queen Victoria's husband and consort
• Albert (1828–1902), King of Saxony (1873–1902)
• 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 I 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 II of Prussia (1712–1786), King of Prussia (1740–1786)
• Friedrich III (1831–1888), German Emperor and King of Prussia (1888)
• Augustus II the Strong (1670–1733), Elector of Saxony (1694), King of Poland (1697–1733)
• Frederick Augustus I (1750–1827), Elector (1763–1806) and King (1806–1827) of Saxony
• Frederick Augustus II (1797–1854), King of Saxony (1836–1854)
• Frederick Augustus III (1865–1932), King of Saxony (1904–1918)
• Frederick William I (1688–1740), King of Prussia (1713–1740)
• Frederick William II (1744–1797), King of Prussia (1786–1797)
• Frederick William III (1770–1840), King of Prussia (1797–1840)
• Frederick William IV (1795–1861), King of Prussia (1840–1861)
• George (1832–1904), King of Saxony (1902–1904)
• George V (1819–1878), King of Hanover (1851–1866)
• Henry I the Fowler (876–936), King of Germany 919
• Henry II (972–1024), King of Germany 1002, Holy Roman Emperor 1014–24
• Henry III (1017–1056), King of Germany 1039, Holy Roman Emperor 1046–56
• Henry IV (1050–1106), King of Germany 1056, Holy Roman Emperor 1084–1106
• Henry V (1081–1125), King of Germany 1106, Holy Roman Emperor 1111–25
• Henry VI (1165–1197), King of Germany 1190, Holy Roman Emperor 1191–97
• John (1801–1873), King of Saxony (1854–1873)
• Louis IV (1281–1347), King of Germany 1314, Holy Roman Emperor 1328–47
• Ludwig I (1786–1868), King of Bavaria (1825–1848)
• Ludwig II (1845–1886), King of Bavaria (1864–1886)
• Ludwig III (1845–1921), King of Bavaria (1913–1918)
• Maximilian I (1459–1519), King of Germany 1486, Holy Roman Emperor 1508–19
• Maximilian I (1756–1825), Elector (1799–1805) and King (1805–1825) of Bavaria
• Maximilian II (1811–1864), King of Bavaria (1848–1864)
• Otto I the Great (912–973), King of Germany 936, Holy Roman Emperor 962–973
• Otto II (955–983), Holy Roman Emperor 973–983
• Otto III (980–1002), King of Germany 983, Holy Roman Emperor 996–1002
• Otto of Greece King of Bavaria (1815–1867), King of the Hellenes (1833–1862)
• Otto of Bavaria (1848–1916), King of Bavaria (1886–1913)
• Wilhelm I (1797–1888), German Emperor (1871–1888) and King of Prussia (1861–1888)
• Wilhelm II (1859–1941), German Emperor and King of Prussia (1888–1918)
• William I (1781–1864), King of Württemberg (1816–1864)
• William II (1848–1921), King of Württemberg (1891–1918)

Scientists and engineers

A–G

• Otto Wilhelm Hermann von Abich (1806–1886), mineralogist, geologist
• Michael Albeck (born 1934), Israeli chemist; President of Bar-Ilan University
• Alois Alzheimer (1864–1915), psychiatrist and neuropathologist
• Peter Apian (1495–1552), mathematician, astronomer and cartographer
• Manfred von Ardenne (1907–1997), physicist
• Lykke Aresin (1921–2011), physician, sexologist and writer
• Anton de Bary (1831–1888), surgeon, botanist, microbiologist
• Johann Bayer (1572–1625), astronomer
• Henning Behrens (born 1940), economist and political scientist
• Georg Bednorz (born 1950), physicist Nobel Prize for Physics
• Emil von Behring (1854–1917), physician
• Karl Benz (1844–1929), inventor of the gasoline-powered automobile
• Friedrich Bessel (1784–1846), mathematician
• Hans Bethe (1906–2005), physicist
• Hennig Brand (c. 1630 c.1692 or c. 1710), alchemist; discoverer of phosphorus
• Max Born (1882–1970), physicist
• Robert Bosch (1861–1942), industrialist
• Carl F. W. Borgward (1890–1963), engineer
• Karl Ferdinand Braun (1850–1918), physicist
• Wernher von Braun (1912–1977), space engineer, rocket scientist
• Eduard Buchner (1860–1917), biochemist; recipient 1907 Nobel Prize for Chemistry for the discovery of enzymes
• Robert Wilhelm Bunsen (1811–1899), chemist
• Alfred Buntru (1887–1974), hydraulic engineer and SS officer
• Georg Cantor (1845–1918), mathematician
• Conrad of Leonberg (1460–1511), humanist scholar
• Nicolaus Copernicus (1473–1543), Prussian astronomer who wrote and spoke German; he is also often considered as a Pole
• Hans Gerhard Creutzfeldt, neuropathologist
• Adolf Daimler (1871–1913), mechanical engineer
• Gottlieb Daimler (1834–1900), inventor and engineer
• Gertrud Dorka (1893–1976), archaeologist, prehistorian and museum director
• Carl Duisberg (1861–1935), chemist and industrialist
• Rudolf Diesel (1858–1913), inventor of the Diesel engine
• Paul Ehrlich (1854–1915), physician
• Albert Einstein (1879–1955), physicist
• Gerhard Ertl (born 1936), physicist
• Hans Jürgen Eysenck (1916–1997), psychologist
• Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit (1686–1736), physicist, engineer, and glass blower
• Adolf Eugen Fick (1829–1901), inventor of contact lenses
• Wolfgang Finkelnburg (1905–1967), physicist
• Hermann Emil Fischer (1852–1919), chemist and 1902 recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Friederike Fless (born 1964), president of the German Archaeological Institute
• Elvira Fölzer (1868–1928), early female archaeologist
• Joseph von Fraunhofer (1787–1826), physicist
• Gottlob Frege (1848–1925), mathematician and logicist
• Wilhelm Siegmund Frei (1885–1943), dermatologist
• Erich Fromm (1900–1980), psychologist
• Klaus Fuchs (1911–1988), physicist and spy
• Hans Geiger (1882–1945), physicist
• Carl Friedrich Gauss (1777–1855), mathematician
• Otto von Guericke (1602–1682), scientist
• Johannes Gutenberg (1398–1468), inventor of modern bookprinting

H–J

• Fritz Haber (1868–1934), chemist
• Ernst Haeckel (1834–1919), physician
• Otto Hahn (1879–1968), chemist
• Theodor W. Hänsch (born 1941), physicist
• Bernhard Hantzsch (1875–1911), ornithologist
• Georg Hartmann (1865–1946), geographer
• Felix Hausdorff (1868–1942), mathematician
• Robert Havemann (1910–1982), chemist
• Ernst Heinkel (1888–1958), aircraft engineer
• Werner Karl Heisenberg (1901–1976), physicist
• Hermann Helmholtz, physicist
• Heinrich Rudolf Hertz (1857–1894), physicist
• Johannes Hevelius (1611–1687), astronomer
• David Hilbert (1862–1943), mathematician
• Magnus Hirschfeld (1868–1935), physician, sexologist, founder of the first ever committee for LGBTQ+ rights
• Johann Homann (1664–1724), geographer
• Erich Hueckel (1896–1980), physicist
• Alexander von Humboldt (1769–1859), explorer
• Carl Gustav Jacob Jacobi (1804–1851), mathematician
• Alfons Maria Jakob (1884–1931), neurologist
• Hugo Junkers (1859–1935), aircraft engineer

K–L

• Theodor Kaluza (1885–1954), mathematician, theoretical physicist
• Friedrich August Kekulé von Stradonitz (1829–1896), chemist
• Johannes Kepler (1571–1630), astronomer
• Gustav Robert Kirchhoff (1824–1887), physicist
• Martin Heinrich Klaproth (1743–1817), chemist
• Felix Klein (1849–1925), mathematician
• Klaus von Klitzing (born 1943), physicist, Nobel Prize in Physics
• Wolfgang Franz von Kobell (1803–1882), mineralogist
• Robert Koch (1843–1910), physician
• Walter Karl Koch (1880–1962), surgeon
• Adolph Wilhelm Hermann Kolbe (1818–1884), chemist
• Leopold Kronecker (1823–1891), mathematician
• Ernst Eduard Kummer (1810–1893), mathematician
• Edmund Landau (1877–1938), mathematician
• Hermann Lattemann (1852–1894), balloon pilot and parachutist
• Max von Laue (1879–1960), physicist
• Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1646–1716), mathematician
• Philipp Eduard Anton von Lenard (1862–1947), physicist
• Rudolph Lennhoff (1866–1933), public health doctor
• August Leskien (1840–1916), linguist
• Justus von Liebig (1803–1873), chemist
• Otto Lilienthal (1848–1896), aviation pioneer
• Ferdinand von Lindemann (1852–1939), mathematician
• Alexander Lippisch (1894–1976), aerodynamicist
• Friedrich Loeffler (1852–1915), bacteriologist
• Johann Josef Loschmidt (1821–1895), physicist, chemist
• Cornelia Lüdecke (born 1954), polar researcher, historian
• Reimar Lüst (1923–2020), astrophysicist

M–R

• (Albertus Magnus see "A")
• Ludwig Immanuel Magnus, mathematician
• Siegfried Marcus (1831–1898), automobile pioneer
• Wilhelm Maybach (1846–1929), car-engine and automobile constructor
• Wilhelm Messerschmitt (1898–1978), aircraft engineer
• Lothar Meyer (1830–1895), chemist
• Franz Mertens (1840–1927), mathematician
• August Ferdinand Möbius (1790–1868), mathematician, theoretical astronomer
• Ralph Bernstein (born 1933), engineer
• Johannes Müller (1801–1858), physiologist
• Walther Nernst (1864–1941), physicist
• Carl Gottfried Neumann (1832–1925), mathematician
• Franz Ernst Neumann (1798–1895), mathematician
• Markolf Niemz (born 1964), physicist, biophysicist, and author
• (1938–2008), economist
• Emmy Noether (1882–1935), mathematician
• Georg Ohm (1789–1854), physicist
• Wilhelm Ostwald, chemist; recipient 1909 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Nicolaus Otto (1832–1891), coinventor of the Otto cycle
• Bernhard Philberth (1927–2010), physicist, engineer, philosopher, theologian
• Lily Pincus (1898–1981), social worker, marital psychotherapist and author
• Max Planck (1858–1947), physicist
• Jesco von Puttkamer (1933–2012), space scientist (NASA manager), engineer and author
• Bernhard Riemann (1826–1866), mathematician
• Adam Ries (1492–1559), mathematician
• Wilhelm Röntgen (1845–1923), physicist; inventor of x-rays

S–V

• Carl Wilhelm Scheele (1742–1786), chemist
• Matthias Jakob Schleiden (1804–1881), botanist
• Heinrich Schliemann (1822–1890), archaeologist
• Christian Friedrich Schonbein (1799–1868), chemist
• Friedrich Hermann Schottky (1851–1935), mathematician
• Theodor Schwann (1810–1882), physiologist
• Hermann Amandus Schwarz (1843–1921), mathematician
• Karl Schwarzschild (1873–1916), physicist
• Ernst Stromer (1871–1952), Paleontologist
• Carl Semper (1832–1893), ecologist
• Cynthia Sharma (born 1979), infectious disease researcher, biologist
• Werner von Siemens (1816–1892), inventor, industrialist
• Rolf Singer (1906–1994), mycologist
• Arnold Sommerfeld (1868–1951), physicist
• Eduard Adolf Strasburger (1844–1912), German-Polish professor; one of the most famous botanists of the 19th century
• Georg Steller (1709–1746), naturalist
• William Stern (1871–1938), psychologist, philosopher
• Alfred Stock (1876–1946), chemist
• Levi Strauss (1829–1902), jeans
• Emmy Mercedes Todtmann (1888–1973), glacial geologist
• Max Vasmer (1886–1962), linguist
• Rudolf Virchow (1821–1902), pioneer of medicine

W–Z

• Otto Wallach, physicist
• Hellmuth Walter (1900–1980), propulsion
• Felix Wankel (1902–1988), inventor of the Wankel engine
• Alfred Wegener (1880–1930), geologist, meteorologist
• Karl Weierstrass (1815–1897), mathematician
• August Weismann (1834–1914), biologist
• Carl Friedrich von Weizsäcker (1912–2007), physicist
• Hermann Weyl (1885–1955), mathematician
• Maximilian zu Wied-Neuwied (1782–1867), zoologist
• Wilhelm Wien (1864–1928), physicist
• Heinrich Wohlwill (1874–1943), electrical engineer
• Mieczysław Wolfke (1883–1947), Polish physicist of German descent
• Wilhelm Wundt (1832–1920), physiologist, psychologist
• Christian Zeller (1822–1899, Rektor), mathematician
• Ferdinand von Zeppelin (1838–1917), inventor of the Zeppelin, founded the Zeppelin Airship company
• Ernst Zermelo (1871–1953), mathematician
• Konrad Zuse (1910–1995), computer pioneer

Sportspeople

A–G

• Franziska van Almsick (born 1978), swimmer
• Adolf Anderssen (1818–1879), chess grandmaster
• Tobias Arlt (born 1987), luger
• Rudi Ball (1911–1975), Hall of Fame ice hockey player, Olympic bronze 1932, World runner-up 1930, bronze 1934
• Michael Ballack (born 1976), football player
• Karin Balzer (1938–2019), hurdler
• Marcel Barthel (born 1990), professional wrestler
• Dieter Baumann (born 1965), athlete
• Franz Beckenbauer (1945–2024), football player
• Boris Becker (born 1967), tennis player
• Ludger Beerbaum (born 1963), equestrian; four-time Olympic Gold medalist
• Elly Beinhorn (1907–2007), aviator
• Valery Belenky (born 1969), Soviet/Azerbaijan/German Olympic gymnastics champion (team combined exercises), bronze (individual combined exercises)
• Isaac Bonga, NBA player
• Stefan Bellof (1957–1985), race car driver
• Gretel Bergmann (1914–2017), internationally renowned high jumper of the 1930s was excluded from the 1936 Olympic team due to being Jewish.
• Frank Biela (born 1964), race car driver
• Oliver Bierhoff (born 1968), football player
• Jérôme Boateng (born 1988), football player
• Timo Boll, table tennis player
• Kathrin Boron (born 1969), scmomuller; four-time Olympic gold medallist
• Daryl Boyle (born 1987), ice hockey player for Germany
• Andreas Brehme (born 1960), football player and coach
• Paul Breitner (born 1951), football player
• Kai Budde (1979–2026), professional ' player
• Bettina Bunge (born 1963), tennis player
• Rudolf Caracciola (1901–1959), race car driver
• Rolf Decker, German-born American, football midfielder (US national team)
• Uschi Disl (born 1970), biathlete
• Leon Draisaitl (born 1995), ice hockey player
• Heike Drechsler (born 1964), athlete
• Mathew Dumba (born 1994), ice hockey player
• Stefan Effenberg (born 1968), football player
• Christian Ehrhoff (born 1982), Olympian and National Hockey League hockey player; plays for the Buffalo Sabres
• David Elsner (born 1992), ice hockey forward
• Erich Gottlieb Eliskases (1913–1997), leading chess player of the 1930s–40s, represented Austria, Germany and Argentina in international competition
• Kornelia Ender (born 1958), swimmer; became the first woman swimmer to win four gold medals at a single Olympic Games (in 1976), all in world record times
• Karin Enke (born 1961), speed skater; one of the most dominant of the 1980s
• Jürgen Fanghänel (born 1951), boxer
• Rudi Fink (born 1958), boxer
• Birgit Fischer (born 1962), kayaker
• Sven Fischer (born 1971), biathlete
• Theodor Fischer, Olympic épée and foil fencer
• Alfred Flatow (1869–1942), gymnast, three-time Olympic champion (parallel bars, team parallel bars, team horizontal bar), silver (horizontal bar)
• Gustav Felix Flatow (1875–1945), two-time Olympic champion (team parallel bars, team horizontal bar)
• Heinz-Harald Frentzen (born 1967), racing driver
• Torsten Frings (born 1976), football player
• Gottfried Fuchs (1889–1972), Olympic football player
• Erika Geisen, IFBB professional bodybuilder
• Natalie Geisenberger (born 1988), luger
• Timo Glock (born 1982), racing driver
• Marcel Goc, German Olympian and NHL hockey player; plays for the Nashville Predators
• Harold Goldsmith, born Hans Goldschmidt (1930–2004), American Olympic foil and épée fencer
• Mario Gómez (born 1985), football player
• Steffi Graf (born 1969), tennis player
• Michael Greis (born 1976), biathlete
• Michael Gross (born 1964), swimmer
• Ricco Groß (born 1970), biathlete
• Jan Gustafsson (born 1979), chess grandmaster and Janistan head of state
• Ludwig Guttmann (1899–1980), founder of the Paralympics

H–M

• Tommy Haas (born 1978), tennis player
• Georg Hackl (born 1966), luger
• Hans Halberstadt (1885–1966), German-born American Olympic fencer
• Dietmar Hamann (born 1973), football player
• Sven Hannawald (born 1974), ski jumper
• Armin Hary (born 1937), athlete
• Thomas Häßler (born 1966), football player
• Nico Hülkenberg (born 1987), racing driver
• Nick Heidfeld (born 1977), racing driver
• Lilli Henoch (1899–1942), world records in discus, shot put, and 4x100-m relay; shot by the Nazis in Latvia
• Jupp Heynckes (born 1945), retired footballer and current manager of FC Bayern Munich
• Julius Hirsch (1892–1945), Olympian football player and first Jewish member of the national team, two-time Germany team champion, awarded the Iron Cross during World War I, murdered in Auschwitz concentration camp.
• Ottmar Hitzfeld (born 1949), football player and manager
• Leah Horowitz (1933–1956), Israeli Olympic hurdler
• Mats Hummels (born 1988), football player
• Peter Hussing (1948–2012), boxer
• Robert Hübner (1948–2025), chess grandmaster
• Reinhold Joest (born 1937), race car driver and racing team owner
• Klaus Junge (1924–1945), one of the youngest German chess grandmasters
• Enriko Kehl (born 1992), muay thai kickboxing
• Oliver Kahn (born 1969), football player
• Andy Kapp (born 1967), curler
• Dirk Käsebier (born 1966), boxer
• Fritz Keller (born 1957), football administrator
• Udo Kiessling (born 1955), first ice hockey player to compete at five Olympics
• Herbert Klein (1923–2001), Olympic bronze (200-m breaststroke); three world records
• Ralph Klein (1931–2008), Berlin-born Israeli basketball player and coach
• Jutta Kleinschmidt, rally driver
• Reiner Klimke (1936–1999), equestrian; won six gold and two bronze medals in dressage at the Summer Olympics
• Jürgen Klinsmann (born 1964), football player and manager
• Jürgen Klopp (born 1967), football player and then manager
• Miroslav Klose (born 1978), football player
• Georg Koch (1972–2026), football player
• Marita Koch (born 1957), sprint track and field athlete who collected 30 world records
• Olaf Kölzig (born 1970), German Olympian and National Hockey League goalie; plays for the Tampa Bay Lightning
• Andreas Köpke (born 1962), football player (goalkeeper)
• Louis Krages (1949–2001), racing driver who raced under the pseudonym of "John Winter"
• Ingrid Krämer (born 1943), diver and Olympic champion
• Toni Kroos (born 1990), football player
• Uwe Krupp (born 1965), ice hockey player and coach; won the Stanley Cup and played in an NHL All-Star Game
• Erich Kühnhackl (born 1950), ice hockey player; named Germany's ice hockey player of the 20th century and member of the IIHF Hall of Fame
• Kevin Kuske (born 1979), bobsledder; most successful Olympic athlete in bobsledding, winning four gold medals and two silver medals
• Philipp Lahm (born 1983), football player
• André Lange, bobsledding champion
• Hermann Lang (1909–1987), champion race car driver
• Bernhard Langer (born 1957), golfer
• Henry Laskau (1916–2000), racewalker; won 42 national titles; Pan American Games champion; four-time Maccabiah champion
• Emanuel Lasker (1868–1941), the second World Chess Champion (1894–1921)
• Jens Lehmann (born 1969), football player (goalkeeper)
• Ellen Lohr, racing driver
• Joachim Löw (born 1960), football player and manager of Germany
• Klaus Ludwig, racing driver
• Marion Lüttge (born 1941), javelin thrower
• Brooks Macek (born 1992), ice hockey player for Germany
• Felix Magath (born 1953), football player and manager
• Sepp Maier (born 1944), football player
• Jan Martín (born 1984), German-Israeli-Spanish basketball player
• Henry Maske (born 1964), boxer
• Jochen Mass, racing driver
• Lothar Matthäus (born 1961), football player
• Roland Matthes (1950–2019), swimmer and the most successful backstroke swimmer of all times
• Helene Mayer (1910–1953), foil fencer, Olympic champion
• Georg Meier (1910–1999), motorcycle racer
• Yona Melnik (born 1949), Israeli Olympic judoka
• Markus Merk (born 1962), top-level football referee
• Christoph Metzelder (born 1980), football player
• Ulrike Meyfarth (born 1956), high jumper
• Rosi Mittermaier (1950–2023), alpine ski champion
• Andreas Möller (born 1967), football player
• Gerd Müller (1945–2021), football player
• Jörg Müller (born 1969), race car driver
• Petra Müller (born 1965), athlete
• Thomas Müller (born 1989), football player

N–R

• Patricia Neske (born 1966), figure skater
• Günter Netzer (born 1944), football player
• Manuel Neuer (born 1986), football player (goalkeeper)
• Gunda Niemann-Stirnemann (born 1966), speed skater
• Aron Nimzowitsch (1886–1935), Latvian-Danish German chess master and chess writer
• Dirk Nowitzki (born 1978), National Basketball Association player
• 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

S–Z

• 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
• 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)
• Ralf Schumacher (born 1975), racing driver; brother of Michael Schumacher
• Dennis Schröder, NBA player
• 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
• Michael Stich (born 1968), tennis player
• Rolf Stommelen (1943–1983), racing driver
• Hans Stuck (1900–1978), racing driver
• Hans-Joachim Stuck, racing driver and son of Hans
• Marco Sturm (born 1978), ice hockey player and coach; one-time NHL All-Star (1999)
• Siegbert Tarrasch (1862–1934), chess grandmaster
• Joseph Taussig (1877–1947), German-born American football quarterback
• Axel Teichmann (born 1979), cross-country skier
• Richard Teichmann (1868–1925), leading German chess player, easily of grandmaster strength
• Axel Tischer (born 1986), professional wrestler
• Toni Turek (1919–1984), football player
• Jan Ullrich (born 1973), cyclist
• Wolfgang Unzicker (1925–2006), chess grandmaster
• Nicole Uphoff (born 1967), equestrian
• Sebastian Vettel, Formula One driver (four-time World Champion)
• Berti Vogts, football player and manager
• Johannes Voigtmann (born 1992), basketball player
• Rudi Völler (born 1960), football player
• Sebastian Vollmer (born 1984), American football player, first German NFL draft pick; plays for the New England Patriots
• Katrin Wagner-Augustin (born 1977), sprint canoer
• Ralf Waldmann, motorcycle racer
• Fritz Walter (1920–2002), football player
• Fritz Walter (born 1960), football player
• Ulrich Wehling (born 1952), won the nordic combined event in the Winter Olympics three consecutive times, in 1972, 1976, and 1980
• Jens Weißflog (born 1964), ski jumper
• Tobias Wendl (born 1987), luger
• Moritz Wagner, NBA player for the Los Angeles Lakers
• Isabell Werth (born 1969), equestrian and world champion in dressage; holds the record for the most Olympic medals won by any equestrian athlete
• Kati Wilhelm (born 1976), biathlete
• Joachim Winkelhock, racing driver
• Manfred Winkelhock (1951–1985), racing driver; brother of Joachim Winkelhock
• Hans Günter Winkler (1926–2018), show jumping rider
• Katarina Witt (born 1965), figure skater
• Bärbel Wöckel (born 1955), sprinter
• Sigrun Wodars (born 1965), athlete
• Jenny Wolf (born 1979), speed skater
• Erik Zabel (born 1970), cyclist
• Christian Ziege (born 1972), football player and manager
• Johannes Zukertort (1842–1888), German Polish-Jewish chessmaster

Theologians, saints and beatified persons

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

Militants

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

Others

• Thomas Kretschmann, actor
• Katja von der Bey, art historian, feminist
• Thomas Bach (born 1953), lawyer, former fencer
• Franz Borkenau (1900–1957), social scientist
• Gottfried Gabriel Bredow (1773–1814), historian
• Moritz Brosch (1829–1907), historian
• Dieter Claessens (1921–1997), sociologist
• Ursula Cotta (1450–1511), benefactor
• Thomas Druyen (born 1957), sociologist
• Shlomo Eckstein (1929–2020), Israeli economist and president of Bar-Ilan University
• Gudrun Ensslin (1940–1977), terrorist
• Michael Fassbender (born 1977), actor
• Siegfried Fischbacher (1939–2021), magician, conservationist
• Reinhard Furrer (1940–1995), astronaut
• Andreas Gaill (1526–1587), jurist
• Margarete Gütschow (1871–1951), archaeologist
• Herschel Grynszpan (1921–1944), Polish-Jewish refugee turned assassin
• Kerstin Günther (born 1967), business executive
• Johann Gutenberg (c. 1390s – 1468), printer
• Hildegard von Bingen (1098–1179), abbess, mystic
• Roy Horn (1944–2020), magician, conservationist
• Karen Horney (1885–1952), psychoanalyst
• Heribert Illig (born 1947), historian
• Peter Hoffmann (1930–2023), awarded outstanding historian
• Sigmund Jähn (1937–2019), first German in space
• Bruno Kahl (born 1962), intelligence administrative lawyer
• Erhart Kirfel, businessman, finance controller of the SPD
• Henry Kissinger (1923–2023), German-American diplomat who served as the 56th United States Secretary of State under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford
• René König (1906–1992), sociologist
• Siegfried Kracauer (1889–1966), writer, journalist, sociologist, cultural critic, and film theorist
• Christoph Koncz (born 1987), violist, conductor
• Mahide Lein (born 1949), LGBTQ+ activist
• Christian Frederick Martin (1796–1867), inventor of the steel-string guitar
• Ulrike Meinhof (1934–1976), journalist and terrorist
• Ulf Merbold (born 1941), astronaut
• Cläre Mjøen (1874–1963), translator, women's rights activist and eugenicist
• Karl Neumeyer (1869–1941), Jewish jurist
• Carl von Ossietzky (1889–1938), journalist and pacifist
• Ferdinand Porsche (1875–1951), designer and founder of Porsche
• Ferry Porsche (1909–1998), automobile designer and son of Ferdinand Porsche
• Ferdinand Alexander Porsche (1935–2012), designer and member of the Porsche family
• Ludwig Quidde (1858–1941), historian and pacifist
• Leopold von Ranke (1795–1886), historian
• Paul Reuter (1816–1899), entrepreneur, pioneer of telegraphy and news reporting
• Dora Richter (1891–presumed 1933), first known woman to undergo sex reassignment surgery
• Margarete Rosenberg (1910–1985), lesbian Holocaust survivor
• Mathias Rust (born 1968), aviator who landed on Moscow's Red Square in 1987
• Ruth Rissing-van Saan (born 1946), lawyer and chair judge
• Helmut Schelsky (1912–1984), sociologist
• Oskar Schindler (1908–1974), industrialist; credited with saving the lives of 1,200 Jews during the Holocaust
• Hannelore Schmatz (1940–1979), mountaineer
• Heffa Schücking, environmentalist
• Albert Schweitzer (1875–1965), physician, humanitarian
• Henry Shultz (1776–1851), emigrant to the United States, entrepreneur
• Guy Spier (born 1966), author and investor
• Pauline Staegemann (1838–1909), socialist, feminist and trade unionist
• Claus von Stauffenberg (1907–1944), Operation Valkyrie
• Ilse Totzke (1913–1987), Holocaust survivor
• Frederick Trump (1869–1918), businessman, patriarch of the Trump family
• Hans-Hasso von Veltheim (1885–1956) Indologist, Anthroposophist
• Dorothea Juliana Wallich (1657–1725), alchemist
• Ulrich Walter (born 1954), astronaut
• Alfred Weber (1868–1958), sociologist
• Max Weber (1864–1920), sociologist
• Diedrich Hermann Westermann (1875–1956), linguist
• Ruth Westheimer (1928–2024), German-American sex therapist, talk show host, author, Doctor of Education, Holocaust survivor, and former Haganah sniper.
• William the Silent (1533–1584), German-born main leader of the Dutch revolt against the Spanish Habsburgs
• Johann Joachim Winckelmann (1717–1768), art historian and archaeologist
• Karl Witte (1800–1883), jurist and scholar of Dante Alighieri
• Friedrich Heinrich Zinckgraf (1878–1954), gallery owner

More lists of Germans

• 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

See also

• Germans
• German Diaspora
• German Americans
• German Brazilians
• German Canadians
• Germans in Bulgaria
• Germans in the Czech Republic
• Germans of Hungary
• Germans in South Africa
• Germans of Paraguay
• Germans of Poland
• Germans of Romania
• Germans in the United Kingdom
• German Argentines
• German Russians
• German Venezuelan
• List of Austrian Jews
• List of Austrians
• List of Swiss people
• Lists of people by nationality

References