List_of_Germans
This is a list of notable Germans. Persons of mixed heritage have their respective ancestries credited.
This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.
Main article: List of German architects
- Leonhard Muffert (born 2002), architect
- 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
Main article: List of German artists
See also: List of German architects and List of German painters
A–M
- Hans von Aachen (1552–1615), mannerist painter
- Albrecht Altdorfer (1480–1538), painter
- Gertrud Arndt (1903–2000), photographer; pioneering self-portraiture
- 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, 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
Main article: List of German entrepreneurs
A–M
- Karl Albrecht (1920–2014) and Theo Albrecht (1922–2010), founder of Aldi
- Ludwig Bamberger (1823–1899), co-founder of Deutsche Bank[1]
- 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[2]
- 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 AG
- 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[3]
- Adolf Dassler (1900–1978), founder of sportswear company Adidas[4]
- 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[5]
- 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 AG
- 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 Adam Opel AG
- 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[6]
- Günther Quandt (1881–1954), industrial, entrepreneur of different companies (today includes BMW AG and Altana)
- Karl Friedrich Rapp (1882–1962), co-founder of Rapp Motorenwerke GmbH, which later became BMW AG[7]
- 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
- 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 AG
- Carl Tchilinghiryan (1910–1987), co-founder of Tchibo
- Carl von Thieme (1844–1924), founder of Allianz AG, 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 (born 1926), German-born Israeli industrialist, investor, philanthropist, billionaire, and former Member of the Knesset
- Aloys Wobben (1952–2021), founder of Enercon
- Reinhold Würth (born 1935), company Würth
- Carl Zeiss (1816–1888), founder of Carl Zeiss AG, maker of optical instruments
- Ferdinand von Zeppelin (1838–1917), inventor of the Zeppelin; founder of the Zeppelin Airship company
- Johanna Acs (born 1992), model
- 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[8]
- Stefanie Giesinger (born 1996), model[9]
- 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[10]
- 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)
See also: List of German fashion designers
- Hugo Boss (1885–1948), fashion designer
- Wolfgang Joop (born 1944), fashion designer
- Karl Lagerfeld (1933–2019), fashion designer
- Michael Michalsky (born 1967), fashion designer
Actresses and actors
Main article: List of German actors
See also: List of former child actors from Germany, List of current child actors from Germany, and List of German-speaking Academy Award winners and nominees
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[11]
- 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[12]
- Hans Clarin (1930–2005), actor
- August Diehl (born 1976), actor
- Marlene Dietrich (1901–1992), actress[13]
- 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[14]
- Alexandra Maria Lara (born 1978), actress
- 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, 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 (born 1941), actor
- Luise del Zopp (1871–1946), actress, opera singer, screenwriter
Filmmakers
See also: List of German film directors
- Uwe Boll, film director
- Andreas Deja, animator
- Doris Dörrie, female film director
- Bernd Eichinger (1949–2011), film producer
- Roland Emmerich (born 1955), film director (Stargate, Independence Day, Godzilla, The Day After Tomorrow)
- Harun Farocki (1944–2014), film director
- Rainer Werner Fassbinder (1945–1982), film director
- Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, film director; Academy Award winner
- Werner Herzog (born 1942), film director
- Oliver Hirschbiegel, film director
- Alexander Kluge (born 1932), film director
- Carl Koch (1892–1963), film director and writer
- Fritz Lang (1890–1976), film director
- Ernst Lubitsch (1892–1947), film director
- F.W. Murnau (1888–1931), film director
- Wolfgang Petersen (1941–2022), film director
- Ashwin Raman (born 1946), documentary filmmaker
- Leni Riefenstahl (1902–2003), female film director
- Helma Sanders-Brahms (1940–2014), film director
- Peter Schamoni (1934–2011), film director
- Volker Schlöndorff (born 1939), film director
- Andreas Schnaas (born 1968), film director
- Hans-Jürgen Syberberg (born 1935), film director
- Tom Tykwer (born 1965), film director
- Margarethe von Trotta (born 1942), film director
- Robert Wiene, film director
- Wim Wenders (born 1945), film director
- William Wyler, (1902–1981), film director
See also: List of German journalists, List of German-language authors, List of German-language philosophers, List of German-language playwrights, and List of German-language poets
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
Main article: List of German comedians
- Dieter Hildebrandt (1927–2013), cabaret performer
- Bruno Jonas (born 1952), cabaret performer
- Michael Mittermeier (born 1966), comedian
- Georg Schramm (born 1949), cabaret performer
- Mathias Richling (born 1953), cabaret performer
- Richard Rogler (born 1949), cabaret performer
- Daniel Tosh (born 1975), comedian
Main article: List of German journalists
- Rudolf Augstein (1923–2002), journalist
- Peter Limbourg (born 1960), journalist
- Marion Dönhoff (1909–2002), journalist
- Günther Jauch (born 1956), journalist
- Sabine Christiansen (born 1957), journalist
- Maybrit Illner (born 1965), journalist
- Anne Will (born 1966), journalist
- Sandra Maischberger (born 1966), journalist
See also: List of German 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
- 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)
- 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)
Composers
See also: List of German composers
- Carl Friedrich Abel (1725–1787), composer
- Martin Agricola (1466–1506), composer
- Siegfried Alkan (1858–1941), composer
- Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (1714–1788), composer; son of Johann Sebastian Bach
- Johann Christian Bach (1735–1782), composer; son of Johann Sebastian Bach
- Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750), composer
- Klaus Badelt (born 1967), film composer (Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, Miami Vice, Ultraviolet, 2008 Summer Olympics closing ceremony in Beijing)
- Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827), composer
- Martin Böttcher (1927–2019), film composer (Karl May film adaptations)
- Johannes Brahms (1833–1897), composer
- Max Bruch (1838–1920), composer
- Dieterich Buxtehude (c. 1637/39–1707), Danish-German organist and composer of the Baroque period
- Hanns Eisler (1898–1962), composer
- Friedrich von Flotow (1812–1883), composer
- Christoph Willibald Gluck (1714–1787), composer
- Georg Friedrich Händel (1685–1759), composer, opera composer
- Fanny Hensel (1805–1847), composer
- Paul Hindemith (1895–1963), composer
- Engelbert Humperdinck (1854–1921), composer
- Albert Lortzing (1801–1851), composer
- Giacomo Meyerbeer (1791–1864), composer
- Felix Mendelssohn (1809–1847), composer
- Leopold Mozart (1719–1787), composer, conductor, teacher, and violinist; father of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart[15]
- 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 (born 1952), 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
See also: List of German musicians
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 and Sandra Cretu, founders and performers of the musical project Enigma and the group Sandra
- Diana Damrau, 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 (born 1941), German record producer and songwriter
- Helene Fischer (born 1984), singer
- Gertrude Förstel (1880–1950), operatic soprano, voice teacher
- Peter Fox (born 1971), singer
- 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
- Gershon Kingsley (1922–2019), composer
- Alexander Klaws (born 1983), singer
- Hildegard Knef (1925–2002), singer
- Peter Kraus (born 1939), singer
- Mike Kogel, 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, lead singer of the pop group ABBA
- Peter Maffay (born 1949), singer
- Klaus Meine, 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
- 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
See also: List of German-language philosophers
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 (born 1929), 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
See also: List of German 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)
- 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
- 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 (born 1942), 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
- Konstantin 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 since 2021 (SPD)
Presidents of Germany
(in chronological order)
- Friedrich Ebert (1871–1925), first president of the Weimar Republic (SPD) 1919–25
- Paul von Hindenburg (1847–1934), field marshal, president 1925–34
- Adolf Hitler (1889–1945), combining legally both offices, president and chancellor ("Führer und Reichskanzler") 1933–45
- Karl Dönitz (1891–1980), Admiral of the Fleet, after Hitler's death, president for 22 days, 1945
Presidents of the Federal Republic of Germany since 1949:
(in chronological order)
- Theodor Heuss (1884–1963), Federal President 1949–59 (Liberal-Democratic Party, FDP)
- Heinrich Lübke (1894–1972), Federal President 1959–69 (CDU)
- Gustav Heinemann (1899–1976), Federal President 1969–74 (SPD)
- Walter Scheel (1919–2016), Federal President 1974–79 (FDP)
- Karl Carstens (1914–1992), Federal President 1979–84 (CDU)
- Richard von Weizsäcker (1920–2015), Federal President 1984–94 (CDU)
- Roman Herzog (1934–2017), Federal President 1994–99 (CDU)
- Johannes Rau (1931–2006), Federal President 1999–2004 (SPD)
- Horst Köhler (born 1943), 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
See also: List of German monarchs
- 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)
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
- 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 (1933), engineer
- Johannes Müller (1801–1858), physiologist
- Walther Nernst (1864–1941), physicist
- Carl Gottfried Neumann (1832–1925), mathematician
- Franz Ernst Neumann (1798–1895), mathematician
- Claus Noé (1938–2008), economist
- Emmy Noether (1882–1935), mathematician
- Georg Ohm (1789–1854), physicist
- Wilhelm Ostwald, chemist; recipient 1909 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
- Nicolaus Otto (1832–1891), coinventor of the Otto cycle
- Bernhard Philberth (1927–2010), physicist, engineer, philosopher, theologian
- 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
- 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
See also: List of German bodybuilders, List of Germany men's international footballers, List of Germany international footballers 1908–1942, List of Germany women's international footballers, and List of Germany national rugby union players
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[16]
- 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[17]
- 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 (born 1979), professional Magic: The Gathering player
- Bettina Bunge (born 1963), tennis player
- Rudolf Caracciola (1901–1959), race car driver
- Rolf Decker, German-born American, football midfielder (US national team)
- Uschi Disl (born 1970), biathlete
- Leon Draisaitl (born 1995), ice hockey player
- Heike Drechsler (born 1964), athlete
- Mathew Dumba (born 1994), ice hockey player
- Stefan Effenberg (born 1968), football player
- Christian Ehrhoff (born 1982), Olympian and National Hockey League hockey player; plays for the Buffalo Sabres
- David Elsner (born 1992), ice hockey forward
- Erich Gottlieb Eliskases (1913–1997), leading chess player of the 1930s–40s, represented Austria, Germany and Argentina in international competition
- Kornelia Ender (born 1958), swimmer; became the first woman swimmer to win four gold medals at a single Olympic Games (in 1976), all in world record times
- Karin Enke (born 1961), speed skater; one of the most dominant of the 1980s
- Jürgen Fanghänel (born 1951), boxer
- Rudi Fink (born 1958), boxer
- Birgit Fischer (born 1962), kayaker
- Sven Fischer (born 1971), biathlete
- Theodor Fischer, Olympic épée and foil fencer
- Alfred Flatow (1869–1942), gymnast, three-time Olympic champion (parallel bars, team parallel bars, team horizontal bar), silver (horizontal bar)
- Gustav Felix Flatow (1875–1945), two-time Olympic champion (team parallel bars, team horizontal bar)
- Heinz-Harald Frentzen (born 1967), racing driver
- Torsten Frings (born 1976), football player
- Gottfried Fuchs (1889–1972), Olympic football player
- Erika Geisen, IFBB professional bodybuilder
- Natalie Geisenberger (born 1988), luger
- Timo Glock (born 1982), racing driver
- Marcel Goc, German Olympian and NHL hockey player; plays for the Nashville Predators
- Harold Goldsmith, born Hans Goldschmidt (1930–2004), American Olympic foil and épée fencer
- Mario Gómez (born 1985), football player
- Steffi Graf (born 1969), tennis player
- Michael Greis (born 1976), biathlete
- Michael Gross (born 1964), swimmer
- Ricco Groß (born 1970), biathlete
- Jan Gustafsson (born 1979), chess grandmaster and Janistan head of state
- Ludwig Guttmann (1899–1980), founder of the Paralympics[18]
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 (born 1948), 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
- 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[19]
- Jürgen Klopp (born 1967), Liverpool football manager
- Miroslav Klose (born 1978), football player
- Georg Koch (born 1972), 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[17]
- 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 # 6
- 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[17]
- 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)[20]
- Ralf Schumacher (born 1975), racing driver; brother of Michael Schumacher
- Dennis Schröder, NBA player[17]
- 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[21]
- 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[22]
- 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[23][17]
- 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
See also: List of German popes
- 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 (born 1926), 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)
- Sophie Scholl (1921–1943), member of the German resistance in World War II
- Linda Wenzel, ISIS bride
- 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
- 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, psychoanalyst
- Heribert Illig (born 1947), historian
- Peter Hoffmann, 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
- René König (1906–1992), sociologist
- Siegfried Kracauer
- Christian Frederick Martin (1796–1867), inventor of the steel-string guitar
- Ulrike Meinhof (1934–1976), journalist and terrorist
- Ulf Merbold (born 1941), astronaut
- 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
- Ferdinand Oliver Porsche (born 1961), lawyer, executive and family member of Porsche
- 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
- Helmut Schelsky (1912–1984), sociologist
- Oskar Schindler (1908–1974), industrialist; credited with saving the lives of 1,200 Jews during the Holocaust
- Hannelore Schmatz, mountaineer
- Heffa Schücking, environmentalist
- Albert Schweitzer (1875–1965), physician, humanitarian
- Henry Shultz (1776–1851), emigrant to the United States, entrepreneur
- Ell Smula (1914–1943), Ravensbrück concentration camp victim
- Guy Spier, author and investor
- Claus von Stauffenberg (1907–1944), Operation Valkyrie
- Ilse Totzke (1913–1987), Holocaust survivor
- Frederick Trump (1869–1918), businessman, patriarch of the Trump family[24]
- Hans-Hasso von Veltheim (1885–1956) Indologist, Anthroposophist
- Ulrich Walter (born 1954), astronaut
- Alfred Weber, sociologist
- Max Weber, sociologist
- Diedrich Hermann Westermann (1875–1956), linguist
- Ruth Westheimer (born 1928), 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[25]
- 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
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- 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
- "History – Deutsche Bank". db.com. Retrieved 16 June 2019.
- "Mercedes Benz: Karl Benz". mercedes-benz.com. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
- "The story of the Mercedes star". daimler.com. Retrieved 16 June 2019.
- "Adidas – History". adidasgroup.com. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
- "Eventful and varied: the history of Audi AG". audi.com. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
- "The history of the Porsche engineering office". newsroom.porsche.com. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
- "BMW History in Detail". bmwdrives.com. Retrieved 28 July 2019.
- "Lena Gercke – Allround Talent – Fiv Magazine". fivmagazine.com. Retrieved 28 July 2019.
- "Stefanie Giesinger – An idol for all". fivmagazine.com. Retrieved 28 July 2019.
- "Isch geh als isch". spiegel.de. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
- "From Postwar Germany to Hollywood, A Soap Star dishes on his Journey". npr.org. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
- "Zazie Beetz interview: 'My German identity is really important to me'". independent.co.uk. Retrieved 28 June 2018.
- "Still modern after all these years, Marlene Dietrich's ageless charisma". theguardian.com. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
- "Why a German-Language role could be a game changer for Diane Kruger". vanityfair.com. Retrieved 5 December 2017.
- "The Birth of Mozart". History Today. 1 January 2006.
- Birger Nordmark and Patrick Houda. "Rudi Ball". Sihss.se. Archived from the original on 11 March 2007. Retrieved 12 May 2010.
- "NBA & ABA players Born in Germany". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved 16 June 2019.
- "Historical View". Jewishsports.net. Retrieved 12 May 2010.
- "Jürgen Klinsmann: the life of a world football legend". bundesliga.com. Retrieved 16 June 2019.
- "Michael Schumacher". formula1.com. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
- "Britta Steffen – Hall of Fame Swimmer". Swimming World. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
- "x". Archived from the original on 20 May 2003. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
- "Like many German athletes, Moritz Wagner had a rough go of it when he arrived in the U.S., now he's a Los Angeles Laker". german-times.com. Retrieved 16 June 2019.
- "William I". Britannica.com.