List of Germans
This is a list of notable Germans. Persons of mixed heritage have their respective ancestries credited.
Architects
- Walter Gropius, architect
- Carl Ludvig Engel, architect
- Leo von Klenze, architect
- Balthasar Neumann, architect and engineer
- Matthäus Daniel Pöppelmann, architect
- Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, architect
- Karl Friedrich Schinkel, architect and painter
- Johann Conrad Schlaun, architect
- Gottfried Semper, architect
- Albert Speer, architect
- Wilhelm Kreis, architect
Artists
A–M
- Hans von Aachen, mannerist painter
- Albrecht Altdorfer, painter
- Gertrud Arndt, photographer; pioneering self-portraiture
- Ernst Barlach, sculptor and writer
- Günther Behnisch, architect
- Peter Behrens, architect
- Sibylle Bergemann, photographer
- Joseph Beuys, artist
- Hermann Biow, photographer
- Elisabeth Böhm, architect
- Gottfried Böhm, architect
- Arno Breker, sculptor
- Lovis Corinth, painter
- Lucas Cranach the Elder, painter
- Lucas Cranach the Younger, painter
- Yitzhak Danziger, Berlin-born Israeli sculptor
- Otto Dix, painter
- Leon Draisaitl, ice hockey player of the Edmonton Oilers
- Albrecht Dürer, painter
- Egon Eiermann, architect and designer
- Max Ernst, surrealist painter
- Carl Eytel, painter of desert landscapes in the American Southwest
- Caspar David Friedrich, painter
- Dörte Gatermann, architect
- Willi Glasauer, artist
- Walter Gropius, architect
- George Grosz, artist
- Matthias Grünewald, German Renaissance painter
- Johann Gottlieb Hantzsch, painter
- Bettina Heinen-Ayech, painter
- Hannah Höch, artist
- Hans Holbein the Elder, painter
- Hans Holbein the Younger, illustrator and painter
- Jörg Immendorff, painter
- Helmut Jahn, architect and designer
- Horst Janssen, draftsman, graphic artist, woodcutter, watercolour painter, writer
- Ulli Kampelmann, sculptor and painter
- Anselm Kiefer, painter
- Martin Kippenberger, painter
- Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, painter
- Leo von Klenze, architect
- Hans Kollhoff, architect
- Käthe Kollwitz, painter
- Christian Lemmerz, sculptor and scenographer
- Max Liebermann, painter
- Markus Lüpertz, painter and sculptor
- August Macke, painter
- Harro Magnussen, sculptor
- Franz Marc, painter
- Hans Memling, painter
- Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, architect and designer
- Paula Modersohn-Becker, painter
- Georg Muche, painter, printmaker, architect, author and teacher
- Bill Kaulitz, songwriter, composer, singer-songwriter, voice actor, film producer, and lyricist
- Tom Kaulitz, songwriter, singer-songwriter, guitarist, pianist, voice actor, film producer, and lyricist
- Georg Listing, bassist and pianist
- Gustav Schäfer, musician and drummer
N–Z
- Helmut Newton, photographer
- Frei Otto, architect and research scientist
- Max Pechstein, painter
- Sigmar Polke, painter
- Gerhard Richter, painter
- Julius Runge, marine painter
- Karl Friedrich Schinkel, architect and painter
- Oskar Schlemmer, choreographer, painter, sculptor and stage designer
- Eberhard Schlotter, painter
- Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, painter
- Kurt Schwitters, painter and poet
- Fritz Schumacher, architect and urban designer
- Max Slevogt, painter
- Carl Spitzweg, painter
- Birgit Stauch, sculptor
- Fritz Stoltenberg, landscape artist and marine painter
- Franz Stuck, painter
- Yigal Tumarkin, Israeli painter and sculptor
- Wolf Vostell, artist
- Bertha Wehnert-Beckmann, pioneering female photographer
- Emilie Winkelmann, architect
Company founders
A–M
- Karl Albrecht and Theo Albrecht, founder of Aldi
- Ludwig Bamberger, co-founder of Deutsche Bank
- John Jacob Bausch, co-founder of Bausch & Lomb, makers of contact lenses and Ray-Ban sunglasses
- Friedrich Bayer, founder of what would become Bayer, chemical and pharmaceutical company
- Hans Beck, founder of Playmobil
- Paul Beiersdorf, founded Beiersdorf AG, manufacturers of Nivea, Eucerin
- Melitta Bentz, invented the coffee filter and started Melitta, manufacturers of coffee, paper coffee filters and coffee makers
- Karl Benz, inventor of the gasoline-powered automobile; co-founder of the automobile manufacturer Mercedes-Benz
- Maximilian Delphinius Berlitz, founder of Berlitz Language Schools
- Carl Bertelsmann, founder of Bertelsmann AG, subsidiaries include Random House and BMG
- Johann Adam Birkenstock, in 1774 founded Birkenstock shoe company
- Hermann Blohm, in 1877, co-founder of Blohm+Voss, manufacturer of ships
- Carl F. W. Borgward, founder of Borgward
- August Borsig, founder of Borsig Werke
- Robert Bosch, industrialist, engineer and inventor; founder of Robert Bosch GmbH
- Hugo Boss, fashion designer, founder of Hugo Boss
- Max Braun, founder of Braun GmbH, makers of personal care appliances, coffee makers and other home appliances
- Adolphus Busch, co-founder of Anheuser-Busch brewing company
- Adolph Coors, founder of the Adolph Coors Company brewery, now part of MillerCoors
- Gottlieb Daimler, inventor and engineer; founder of Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft, now Daimler-Benz AG
- Adolf Dassler, founder of sportswear company Adidas
- Rudolf Dassler, founder of sportwear company Puma
- Adelbert Delbrück, co-founder of Deutsche Bank
- Guido Henckel von Donnersmarck, founder of company Schlesische AG für Bergbau und Zinkhüttenbetrieb
- Claude Dornier, founder of Dornier Flugzeugwerke
- Friedrich Engelhorn, founder of the chemical company BASF
- Kaspar Faber, founder of Faber-Castell, manufacturers of office supplies, art supplies, writing instruments and leather goods
- Günther Fielmann, founder of Fielmann
- Wilhelm von Finck, co-founder of Munich Re and Allianz
- Eduard Fresenius, founder of Fresenius
- Jakob [Fugger the Elder], founder of Fugger bank
- Marcus Goldman, co-founder of Goldman Sachs
- Max Grundig, founder of Grundig
- Max Herz, co-founder of Tchibo
- Ernst Heinkel, founder of Heinkel, manufacturer of airplanes
- Richard Hellmann, founder of Hellmann's Mayonnaise
- Friedrich Karl Henkel, founder of Henkel
- J.A. Henckels, manufacturers of kitchen knives, scissors, cookware and flatware
- August Horch, founder of Audi automobile company in 1909
- Helmut Horten, founder of Horten AG
- August Howaldt, founder of Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft in 1835
- Hugo Junkers, founder of Junkers, manufacturer of airplanes in 1895
- Rudolph Karstadt, founder of Karstadt
- Ernst Keil, founder and publisher of Die Gartenlaube
- Carl Kellner, founder of Ernst Leitz GmbH, which later became Leica Camera AG, Leica Geosystems AG, and Leica Microsystems AG, producing cameras, geosurvey equipment and microscopes
- Peter Klöckner, founder of Klöckner-Humboldt-Deutz AG and Klöckner & Co
- Carl Heinrich Theodor Knorr founder of Knorr
- Friedrich Krupp, steel manufacturer and founder of the steel producers ThyssenKrupp AG
- Heinrich Lanz, founder of Heinrich Lanz AG
- Henry Lehman, Emanuel Lehman and Mayer Lehman, German-born bankers, co-founders of Lehman Brothers
- Carl von Linde, founder of The Linde Group
- Henry Lomb, co-founder of Bausch & Lomb
- Friedrich Lürssen, founder of Lürssen in 1875, manufacturers of ships
- Ferdinand Mayer">Ferdinand of Bulgaria">Ferdinand Mayer, founder of the processed-meat firm Oscar Mayer
- Joseph Mendelssohn, founder of former bank Mendelssohn & Co.
- Friedrich Jacob Merck, founder of Merck KGaA
- George Merck, founder of Merck & Co.
- Willy Messerschmitt, founder of Messerschmitt, airplane manufacturer
- Heinrich Meyerfreund, founder of Garoto, chocolate company in Brazil
- Carl Miele, founder of Miele, manufacturer of domestic appliances
- Frederick Miller , founder of the Miller Brewing Company in 1855
N–Z
- Josef Neckermann, founder of the company Neckermann
- August Oetker, founder of the company Dr Oetker
- Adam Opel, founder of the automobile company Opel
- Salomon Oppenheim, founder of bank Sal. Oppenheim
- Ernest Oppenheimer, diamond and gold mining entrepreneur, financier and philanthropist, who controlled De Beers and founded the Anglo American Corporation of South Africa
- Werner Otto, founder of Otto GmbH, now Otto Group, a mail order company
- Ferdinand Porsche, designer and founder of Porsche
- Günther Quandt, industrial, entrepreneur of different companies
- Karl Friedrich Rapp, co-founder of Rapp Motorenwerke GmbH, which later became BMW
- Emil Rathenau, founder of AEG
- Paul Reuter, pioneer of telegraphy and news reporting; founder of Reuters news agency
- Hans Riegel, Sr., founder of Haribo, manufacturer of gummy and jelly sweets
- Nathan Mayer Rothschild, founder of British company N M Rothschild & Sons
- Hugo Sack, cofounder of Sack & Kiesselbach and founder of Sack, GmbH
- Ernst Christian Friedrich Schering, founder of the pharmaceutical company Schering AG
- Gustav Schickedanz, founder of Quelle
- Anton Schlecker, founder of Schlecker
- Ernst Schmidt and Wilhelm Schmidt-Ruthenbeck, founders of Metro AG
- Fritz Sennheiser, founder of Sennheiser Electronic GmbH & Co. KG, specializing in high fidelity products
- Georg von Siemens, co-founder of Deutsche Bank
- Werner von Siemens, inventor, founder of Siemens, electronics and electrical engineering company
- Axel Springer, 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, founder of Steinhoff
- Henry E. Steinway, founder of the piano company Steinway & Sons
- Hugo Stinnes, co-founder of Rheinisch-Westfälisches Elektrizitätswerk AG
- August Storck-Oberwelland, in 1903 founder of Werther's Sugar Confectionery Factory, now August Storck AG
- Franz Ströher, in 1880 founded cosmetics company Wella
- Carl Tchilinghiryan, co-founder of Tchibo
- Carl von Thieme, founder of Allianz, financial services company
- August Thyssen, founder of Walzwerk Thyssen & Co. in Mülheim an der Ruhr
- Friedrich Thyssen, founder of Draht-Fabrik-Compagnie in Aachen
- Hermann Tietz, founder of Hertie, department store
- Leopold Ullstein, founder of publishing company Ullstein Verlag
- Ernst Voss, in 1877, co-founder of Blohm+Voss, manufacturer of ships
- Carl Walther, founder of Walther
- Moses Marcus Warburg and Gershon Warburg, co-founder of M. M. Warburg & Co., German bank
- Siegmund Warburg, founder of S. G. Warburg & Co., British bank
- Bartholomeus V. Welser, Welser brothers bank
- Georg Wertheim, founder of Wertheim, department store
- Stef Wertheimer, German-born Israeli industrialist, investor, philanthropist, billionaire and Member of the Knesset
- Aloys Wobben, founder of Enercon
- Reinhold Würth, company Würth
- Carl Zeiss, founder of Zeiss, maker of optical instruments
- Ferdinand von Zeppelin, inventor of the Zeppelin; founder of the Zeppelin Airship company
Fashion models
- Nadja Auermann, supermodel
- Eugen Bauder
- Charlott Cordes
- Zohre Esmaeli, model, author, designer
- Toni Garrn
- Lena Gercke, winner of 2006 Germany's Next Topmodel
- Stefanie Giesinger, model
- Jennifer Hof, winner of 2008 Germany's Next Topmodel
- Alexandra Kamp
- Heidi Klum, model and host of Project Runway and Germany's Next Topmodel
- Diane Kruger, model and actress
- Barbara Meier, winner of 2007 Germany's Next Topmodel
- Nico, model, singer and actress
- Uschi Obermaier, model and actress
- Eva Padberg
- Tatjana Patitz, supermodel
- Claudia Schiffer, supermodel
- Julia Stegner
Fashionmakers
- Hugo Boss, fashion designer
- Wolfgang Joop, fashion designer
- Karl Lagerfeld, fashion designer
- Michael Michalsky, fashion designer
Film and theatre
Actresses and actors
A–M
- Inga Abel, actress
- Mario Adorf, actor and writer
- Hans Albers, actor
- Iris Berben, actress
- Moritz Bleibtreu, actor
- Grit Boettcher, actress
- Eric Braeden, actor
- Daniel Brühl, actor
- Horst Buchholz, actor
- Vicco von Bülow, actor and comedian
- Zazie Beetz, German born American actress
- Hans Clarin, actor
- August Diehl, actor
- Marlene Dietrich, actress
- George Dzundza, actor
- Heinz Erhardt, actor and comedian
- Veronica Ferres, actress
- Gert Fröbe, actor
- Cornelia Froboess, actress
- Martina Gedeck, actress
- Götz George, actor
- Heinrich George, actor
- Gustaf Gründgens, actor
- Eva Habermann, actress and model
- Evelyn Hamann, actress
- Brigitte Helm, actress
- Henriette Hendel-Schütz, stage actress, mimoplastic performer
- Michael Herbig, actor, director and comedian
- Emil Jannings, actor
- Harald Juhnke, actor and comedian
- Heidi Kabel, actress
- Klaus Kinski, actor; Polish-German father, German mother
- Nastassja Kinski, actress; daughter of actor Klaus Kinski
- Heidi Klum, model and actress
- Hildegard Knef, actress, singer and writer
- Sebastian Koch, actor
- Thomas Kretschmann, actor and model
- Diane Kruger, actress and model
- Alexandra Maria Lara, actress
- Martin Lawrence, actor
- Siegfried Lowitz,actor
- Heike Makatsch, actress
- Hanna Maron, Israeli actress
- Inge Meysel, actress
- Brigitte Mira, actress
- Willy Millowitsch, actor
- Ulrich Mühe, actor
- Armin Mueller-Stahl, actor
N–Z
- Luise Neumann
- Uwe Ochsenknecht, actor
- Christian Oliver, actor
- Lilli Palmer, actress
- Franka Potente, actress
- Jürgen Prochnow, actor
- Luise Rainer, actress
- Heinz Rühmann, actor
- Otto Sander, actor
- Claudia Schiffer, actress and supermodel
- Romy Schneider, actress
- Jessica Schwarz, actress
- Til Schweiger, actor
- Matthias Schweighöfer, actor
- Hanna Schygulla, actress
- Xenia Seeberg, actress and model
- Tomer Sisley, Israeli humorist, actor, screenwriter, comedian, and film director
- Kristina Söderbaum, actress and photographer
- Günter Strack, actor
- Barbara Sukowa, actress
- Horst Tappert, actor
- Katharina Thalbach, actress
- Nora Tschirner, actress
- Ulrich Tukur, actor
- Nadja Uhl, actress
- Wolfgang Völz, actor
- Fritz Wepper, actor
- Luise del Zopp, actress, opera singer, screenwriter
Filmmakers
- Uwe Boll, film director
- Andreas Deja, animator
- Doris Dörrie, female film director
- Bernd Eichinger, film producer
- Roland Emmerich, film director
- Harun Farocki, film director
- Rainer Werner Fassbinder, film director
- Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, film director; Academy Award winner
- Werner Herzog, film director
- Oliver Hirschbiegel, film director
- Alexander Kluge, film director
- Carl Koch, film director and writer
- Fritz Lang, film director
- Ernst Lubitsch, film director
- F.W. Murnau, film director
- Wolfgang Petersen, film director
- Ashwin Raman, documentary filmmaker
- Leni Riefenstahl, female film director
- Helma Sanders-Brahms, film director
- Peter Schamoni, film director
- Volker Schlöndorff, film director
- Andreas Schnaas, film director
- Hans-Jürgen Syberberg, film director
- Tom Tykwer, film director
- Margarethe von Trotta, film director
- Robert Wiene, film director
- Wim Wenders, film director
- William Wyler,, film director
Literature
Classic
- Adam of Bremen, medieval chronicler
- Joseph von Auffenberg, dramatist
- Heinrich Böll, author
- Bertolt Brecht, playwright and poet
- Clemens Brentano, poet and novelist
- Georg Büchner, dramatist and author
- Charles Bukowski, German-born American poet, novelist, and short story writer
- Wilhelm Busch, poet and satirist
- Annette von Droste-Hülshoff, poet
- Joseph von Eichendorff, poet
- Theodor Fontane, novelist and poet
- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, author and poet
- Brothers Grimm, collectors of fairy tales
- Heinrich Heine, poet
- Johann Gottfried Herder, essayist and poet
- Hermann Hesse, author
- E.T.A. Hoffmann, author
- Friedrich Hölderlin, poet
- Ernst Jünger, writer and novelist
- Erich Kästner, novelist
- Heinrich von Kleist, poet, dramatist and novelist
- Gotthold Lessing, writer
- Heinrich Mann, author
- Thomas Mann, author
- Karl May, author
- Theodor Mommsen, A history of Rome
- Christian Morgenstern, poet
- Novalis, poet and novelist
- Erich Maria Remarque, novelist
- Friedrich Schiller, poet and playwright
- Arno Schmidt, writer
- Theodor Storm, author
- Kurt Tucholsky, writer and satirist
- Walter von der Vogelweide, poet
- Christa Wolf, novelist and essayist
- Wolfram von Eschenbach, poet
Major
- Yehuda Amichai, German-born Israeli poet
- Ernst Moritz Arndt, poet, songwriter and patriot
- Achim von Arnim, poet
- Bettina von Arnim, writer and novelist
- Ezriel Carlebach, Israeli journalist and editorial writer
- Matthias Claudius, poet and writer
- Michael Ende, author of fantasy novels and children's books
- Erik Erikson, German-American writer, developmental psychologist and psychoanalyst
- Anne Frank, diarist and victim of the Holocaust
- Paul Gerhardt, hymn writer
- Leah Goldberg, Israeli poet
- Joseph Görres, essayist
- Wilhelm Hauff, writer
- Paul Heyse, writer and translator
- Janosch, author of artist and children's books
- Friedrich Kellner, diarist of My Opposition
- Golo Mann, author and historian
- Klaus Mann, author
- Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué, writer
- Prince Hermann von Pückler-Muskau, writer and landscape gardener
- Otfried Preussler, author of children's books
- Wilhelm Raabe, novelist
- Peter Rühmkorf, poet
- Nelly Sachs, poet
- Leopold Schefer, writer, poet and composer
- August Wilhelm Schlegel, poet and translator
- Ludwig Tieck, poet, editor and novelist
- Ludwig Uhland, poet, writer and playwright
- Gero von Wilpert, essayist
Contemporary
- Hans Magnus Enzensberger, essayist and poet
- Günter Grass, author; recipient, 1999 Nobel Prize in Literature
- Peter Härtling, author
- Rolf Hochhuth, playwright
- Wladimir Kaminer, short story writer
- Daniel Kehlmann, novelist
- Siegfried Lenz, author
- Ferdinand von Schirach, author, screenwriter and lawyer
- Bernhard Schlink, author and professor of law
- Patrick Süskind, author and screenwriter
- Rudolf von Waldenfels, author
- Martin Walser, playwright and novelist
Humorists, cabaret performers and comedians
- Dieter Hildebrandt, cabaret performer
- Bruno Jonas, cabaret performer
- Michael Mittermeier, comedian
- Georg Schramm, cabaret performer
- Mathias Richling, cabaret performer
- Richard Rogler, cabaret performer
- Daniel Tosh, comedian
Journalists
- Rudolf Augstein, journalist
- Peter Limbourg, journalist
- Marion Dönhoff, journalist
- Günther Jauch, journalist
- Sabine Christiansen, journalist
- Maybrit Illner, journalist
- Anne Will, journalist
- Sandra Maischberger, journalist
Mathematicians
- Wilhelm Ackermann, mathematician
- Georg Cantor, mathematician
- Richard Dedekind, mathematician
- Walther von Dyck, mathematician
- Albert Einstein, mathematician, physicist
- Gottlob Frege, mathematician
- Philipp Furtwängler, mathematician
- Carl Friedrich Gauss, mathematician
- Ernst Hellinger, mathematician
- David Hilbert, mathematician
- Carl Gustav Jacob Jacobi, mathematician
- Erich Kähler, mathematician
- Johannes Kepler, mathematician and astronomer
- Felix Christian Klein, mathematician
- Hermann Klaus Hugo Weyl, mathematician
- Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, mathematician
- Kurt Mendelssohn, mathematician
- Hermann Minkowski, mathematician
- August Ferdinand Möbius, mathematician, theoretical astronomer
- Carl Neumann, mathematician
- Emmy Noether, mathematician
- Georg Ohm, mathematician
- Carl Adam Petri, mathematician, computer scientist
- Julius Plücker, mathematician
- Bernhard Riemann, mathematician
- Adam Ries, mathematician, physicist, archeologist
- Gustav Roch mathematician
- Eric Reissner, mathematician, engineer
- Carl David Tolmé Runge, mathematician, physicist, spectroscopist
- Heinrich Scherk, mathematician
- Herman Schwarz, mathematician
- Carl Ludwig Siegel, mathematician
- Roland Sprague, mathematician
- Heinrich Martin Weber, mathematician
- Karl Weierstrass, mathematician
- Max Zorn, mathematician
Military
- Heinrich Bürkle de la Camp, general who specialized as a medic and army doctor
- Carl von Clausewitz, Prussian professional soldier, military historian, and influential military theorist
- Erich von Falkenhayn, general, Prussian Minister of War and Chief of General Staff
- August von Gneisenau, Prussian field marshal and chief of the Prussian General Staff
- Heinz Guderian, military theorist and innovative general
- Erich Hartmann, fighter pilot and air ace
- Gotthard Heinrici, Premier Defensive Expert of the Wehrmacht
- Hermann Hohn, Wehrmacht general
- Alfred Jodl, general, operations chief of the OKW
- Günther von Kluge, field marshal and commander of the Fourth Army and Army Group Center
- Erich Ludendorff, general and Quartermaster General
- Erich von Manstein, field marshal and professional soldier
- Helmuth von Moltke the Elder, field marshal, chief of staff of the Prussian Army for thirty years
- Friedrich Paulus, general and commander of the German Sixth Army, later promoted to Field Marshal
- Günther Rall, third highest scoring fighter ace in history with 275 confirmed kills while serving as a pilot in the Luftwaffe in World War II
- Manfred von Richthofen, also known as the Red Baron, fighter pilot and air ace
- Erwin Rommel, field marshal and commander of Afrika Korps and Army Group B
- Albrecht von Roon, field marshal, Minister of War from
- Hans-Ulrich Rudel, Stuka dive-bomber pilot and air ace
- Gerd von Rundstedt, field marshal and commander
- Alfred von Schlieffen, field marshal, Strategist and Chief of General Staff
- Gerhard von Scharnhorst, general and Prussian Minister of War
- Michael Wittmann, SS captain and tank ace
Music
Composers
- Carl Friedrich Abel, composer
- Martin Agricola, composer
- Siegfried Alkan, composer
- Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, composer; son of Johann Sebastian Bach
- Johann Christian Bach, composer; son of Johann Sebastian Bach
- Johann Sebastian Bach, composer
- Klaus Badelt, film composer
- Ludwig van Beethoven, composer
- Martin Böttcher, film composer
- Johannes Brahms, composer
- Max Bruch, composer
- Dieterich Buxtehude, Danish-German organist and composer of the Baroque period
- Hanns Eisler, composer
- Friedrich von Flotow, composer
- Christoph Willibald Gluck, composer
- Georg Friedrich Händel, composer, opera composer
- Fanny Hensel, composer
- Paul Hindemith, composer
- Engelbert Humperdinck, composer
- Albert Lortzing, composer
- Giacomo Meyerbeer, composer
- Felix Mendelssohn, composer
- Leopold Mozart, composer, conductor, teacher, and violinist; father of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
- Jacques Offenbach, composer
- Carl Orff, composer
- Johann Pachelbel, composer
- Hans Pfitzner, composer
- Max Reger, composer
- Wolfgang Rihm, composer
- Leopold Schefer, writer and composer
- Clara Schumann, composer
- Robert Schumann, composer and songwriter
- Heinrich Schütz, composer
- Charlotte Seither, classical composer, pianist and music educator
- Karlheinz Stockhausen, modern composer
- Richard Strauss, composer, opera composer
- Georg Philipp Telemann, composer
- Richard Wagner, composer
- Carl Maria von Weber, composer
- Kurt Weill, composer
- Hans Zimmer, film composer
Conductors, instrumentalists and singers
A–M
- Hans Albers, singer and actor
- Thomas Anders, singer
- Lale Andersen, singer
- Lou Bega, singer
- Andrea Berg, singer-songwriter
- Wolf Biermann, singer-songwriter and East German dissident
- Dieter Bohlen, music producer
- Andreas Bourani, singer-songwriter
- Hans-Jürgen Buchner, founder, composer, songwriter of the band Haindling
- Fritz Busch, conductor
- Bushido, rapper
- Campino, lead singer of the band Die Toten Hosen
- Yvonne Catterfeld, singer
- Sarah Connor, pop and soul singer
- Michael and Sandra Cretu, founders and performers of the musical project Enigma and the group Sandra
- Diana Damrau, coloratura soprano opera singer
- Marlene Dietrich, singer
- Herbert Dreilich, singer of the Band Karat
- Jürgen Drews, singer
- Katja Ebstein, singer
- Fancy, singer
- Frank Farian, German record producer and songwriter
- Helene Fischer, singer
- Gertrude Förstel, operatic soprano, voice teacher
- Peter Fox, singer
- Thekla Friedländer, soprano and social reformer
- Wilhelm Furtwängler, conductor and composer
- Rex Gildo, singer
- Bernd Heinrich Graf, lead singer of the Band Unheilig
- Antye Greie, vocalist, musician and composer
- Herbert Grönemeyer, singer
- Gudrun Gut, electronic musician
- Nina Hagen, singer
- Heino, pop singer
- Willy Hess, violinist
- Natalie Horler, member of the band Cascada
- Annette Humpe, singer of the bands Ideal and Ich + Ich
- Matthias Jabs, guitarist of the band Scorpions
- Roland Kaiser, singer
- Bill Kaulitz, lead singer of the band Tokio Hotel
- John Kay (musician), German–Canadian musician
- Zah1de, rapper
- Gershon Kingsley, composer
- Alexander Klaws, singer
- Hildegard Knef, singer
- Peter Kraus, singer
- Mike Kogel, lead singer of the band Los Bravos
- Rolf Köhler, singer, musician and record producer
- Paul Kuhn, band leader and singer
- LaFee, singer
- Ute Lemper, singer
- Udo Lindenberg, singer
- Michail Lifits, concert pianist
- Till Lindemann, lead singer of the band Rammstein
- Georg Listing, bassist of the band Tokio Hotel
- Frida Lyngstad, lead singer of the pop group ABBA
- Peter Maffay, singer
- Klaus Meine, vocalist of the band Scorpions
- Reinhard Mey
- Lena Meyer-Landrut, singer
- Marius Müller-Westernhagen, singer
- Karl Münchinger, conductor
- Anne-Sophie Mutter, violinist
N–Z
- Xavier Naidoo
- Meshell Ndegeocello, born of American parents in Germany
- Nena
- Nicole, singer
- Klaus Nomi
- Lisa Otto, opera singer
- Hedwig Reicher-Kindermann, opera singer
- Martin Rich, conductor and pianist
- Marianne Rosenberg, singer-songwriter
- Anneliese Rothenberger, singer
- Ralph Siegel, senior songwriter
- Sandra, singer
- Kool Savas, half German, half Turkish singer
- Gustav Schäfer, drummer of the band Tokio Hotel
- Michael Schenker, guitar player of band UFO and solo career
- Rudolf Schenker, guitarist of the band Scorpions; brother of Michael Schenker
- Peter Schilling, singer
- Sido, rapper
- Cassandra Steen, German-American singer-songwriter, and voice actress
- Farin Urlaub, lead singer of the band Die Ärzte
- Lena Valaitis, singer
- Paul van Dyk, DJ, musician and record producer
- Hannes Wader, singer-songwriter
- Claire Waldoff, singer
- Bruno Walter, conductor and composer
- Konstantin Wecker, singer-songwriter
Philosophy
Classic
- Theodor Adorno, philosopher, sociologist and composer
- Albertus Magnus, medieval philosopher and theologian
- Hannah Arendt, political theorist
- Walter Benjamin
- Ernst Bloch
- Jakob Böhme, mystic philosopher
- Franz Brentano, philosopher and psychologist
- Rudolf Carnap, philosopher
- Ernst Cassirer
- Wilhelm Dilthey, philosopher, historian, psychologist
- Ludwig Feuerbach, philosopher
- Johann Gottlieb Fichte, philosopher
- Gottlob Frege, mathematician, logician and philosopher
- Eduard von Hartmann, philosopher
- Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, philosopher
- Martin Heidegger, philosopher
- Max Horkheimer
- Edmund Husserl, philosopher
- Karl Jaspers, philosopher
- Immanuel Kant, philosopher
- Gottfried Leibniz, physicist, philosopher
- Karl Marx, philosopher and sociologist
- Moses Mendelssohn, philosopher
- Lorenz Christoph Mizler, philosopher active in Poland
- Nikolaus Cusanus, philosopher, theologian, mathematician
- Friedrich Nietzsche, early existentialist philosopher
- Friedrich Schelling, philosopher
- Moritz Schlick, philosopher
- Arthur Schopenhauer, philosopher
- Christian Wolff, philosopher
Major
- Bruno Bauer, political theorist and philosopher
- Friedrich Engels, philosopher, political economist
- Rudolf Christoph Eucken, philosopher
- Erich Fromm
- Hans-Georg Gadamer, philosopher
- Wilhelm von Humboldt, philosopher, linguist, government functionary, diplomat; brother of Alexander von Humboldt
- Ludwig Klages, philosopher
- Leo Löwenthal
- Karl Löwith
- Herbert Marcuse
- Samuel von Pufendorf, moral and political philosopher
- Johann Karl Friedrich Rosenkranz
- Franz Rosenzweig
- Max Scheler, philosopher
- Carl Schmitt, political theorist
- Georg Simmel, philosopher and sociologist
- Max Stirner, philosopher
- Carl Friedrich von Weizsäcker, philosopher and physicist
Contemporary
- Hans Albert, philosopher
- Kurt Flasch, philosopher
- Jürgen Habermas, philosopher, social theorist
- Dieter Henrich, philosopher
- Odo Marquard, philosopher
- Julian Nida-Rümelin, philosopher and political theorist
- Konrad Ott, moral philosopher and environmentalist
- Peter Sloterdijk, philosopher and television host
- Robert Spaemann, philosopher
- Oswald Spengler, philosopher of history; best known for his book "The Decline of the West"
- Ernst Tugendhat, philosopher
Politicians
Miscellaneous
- Rainer Barzel, leader of the party Christian Democratic Union of Germany
- August Bebel, co-founder of the Social Democratic Party of Germany
- Rudolf von Bennigsen, founder of the National Liberal Party
- Eduard Bernstein, Social Democratic leader
- Heinrich von Brentano, Foreign Minister Christian Democratic Union of Germany
- Julius Curtius, Foreign Minister
- Matthias Erzberger, Catholic Center party leader
- Joschka Fischer, Foreign Minister and vice chancellor 1998–2005
- Heinrich Karl Fricke, diplomat, businessperson, and spy
- Hans-Dietrich Genscher, former minister for foreign affairs
- Jakob Grimm, parliamentarian
- Wilhelm Grimm, parliamentarian
- Gregor Gysi, former leader of the Party of Democratic Socialism
- Georg Hornstein, resistance fighter during the period of National Socialism
- Alfred Hugenberg, leader of the German National People's Party
- Johann Jacoby, radical democrat in Prussia
- Luise Kähler, trade union leader, founding member of Socialist Unity Party of Germany
- Karl Kautsky, Social Democratic leader and theoretician
- Petra Kelly, co-founder of the German Green Party
- Roland Koch, Minister-President of Hesse
- Oskar Lafontaine, socialist, former minister for finance
- Ferdinand Lassalle, democrat and socialist
- Karl Liebknecht, socialist
- Wilhelm Liebknecht, co-founder of the Social Democratic Party of Germany
- Rosa Luxemburg, left-wing Social Democratic leader
- Gudrun Masloch, German ambassador to Latvia
- Jakob Maria Mierscheid, virtual parliamentarian
- Hans Modrow, former leader of GDR, honorary chairman of PDS
- Hermann Müller, Chancellor of the Weimar Republic
- Erich Ollenhauer, leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany
- Antonie "Toni" Pfülf, female socialist
- Walther Rathenau, foreign minister
- Eugen Richter, liberal politician
- Wolfgang Schäuble, Christian politician, financial minister
- Carlo Schmid, politician who had vast influence on the content of the German Basic Law after World War II
- Gerhard Schröder, foreign minister, minister of the Interior
- Kurt Schumacher, leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany in the early years of the FRG
- Baron Heinrich vom Stein
- Edmund Stoiber, party leader of the CSU and former minister president of Bavaria
- Franz Josef Strauss, Bavarian politician
- Ernst Thälmann, leader of the Communist Party of Germany during the Weimar period
- Hans-Jochen Vogel, leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany, federal minister of justice
- Otto Wels, leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany
- Guido Westerwelle, party leader of the liberal party
- Klaus Wowereit, social democrat politician
- Clara Zetkin, socialist and fighter for women's rights
- Silke Grimm, German politician
Chancellors of Germany 1871–1945
- Gustav Bauer, chancellor of the Weimar Republic
- Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg, Imperial Chancellor
- Otto von Bismarck, Imperial Chancellor
- Heinrich Brüning, Chancellor of the Weimar Republic
- Bernhard von Bülow, Imperial Chancellor
- Leo von Caprivi, Imperial Chancellor
- Wilhelm Cuno, Chancellor of the Weimar Republic
- Constantin Fehrenbach, Chancellor of the Weimar Republic
- Georg von Hertling, Imperial Chancellor
- Adolf Hitler, Leader of Nazi Germany, combining legally the offices of President and Chancellor
- Prince Chlodwig zu Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst, Imperial Chancellor
- Hans Luther, Chancellor of the Weimar Republic
- Wilhelm Marx, Chancellor of the Weimar Republic
- Prince Maximilian of Baden, Last Imperial Chancellor
- Georg Michaelis, Imperial Chancellor
- Franz von Papen, Chancellor of the Weimar Republic
- Philipp Scheidemann, Chancellor of Weimar Republic
- Kurt von Schleicher, last Chancellor of the Weimar Republic
- Gustav Stresemann, Chancellor of the Weimar Republic
- Joseph Wirth, Chancellor of the Weimar Republic
Chancellors of Germany (after World War II)
- Konrad Adenauer, first democratically elected Federal Chancellor in Western Germany from 1949 to 1963
- Ludwig Erhard, Federal Chancellor from 1963 to 1966
- Kurt Georg Kiesinger, Federal Chancellor from 1966 to 1969
- Willy Brandt, Federal Chancellor from 1969 to 1974
- Helmut Schmidt, Federal Chancellor from 1974 to 1982
- Helmut Kohl, Federal Chancellor from 1982 to 1998
- Gerhard Schröder, Federal Chancellor from 1998 to 2005
- Angela Merkel, Federal Chancellor from 2005 to 2021
- Olaf Scholz, Federal Chancellor since 2021
Presidents of Germany
'- Friedrich Ebert, first president of the Weimar Republic 1919–25
- Paul von Hindenburg, field marshal, president 1925–34
- Adolf Hitler, combining legally both offices, president and chancellor 1933–45
- Karl Dönitz, Admiral of the Fleet, after Hitler's death, president for 22 days, 1945
'
- Theodor Heuss, Federal President 1949–59
- Heinrich Lübke, Federal President 1959–69
- Gustav Heinemann, Federal President 1969–74
- Walter Scheel, Federal President 1974–79
- Karl Carstens, Federal President 1979–84
- Richard von Weizsäcker, Federal President 1984–94
- Roman Herzog, Federal President 1994–99
- Johannes Rau, Federal President 1999–2004
- Horst Köhler, Federal President 2004–10
- Jens Böhrnsen, acting president since resignation of Köhler in 2010
- Christian Wulff, Federal President 2010–12
- Horst Seehofer, acting president since resignation of Wulff in 2012
- Joachim Gauck, Federal President 2012–2017
- Frank-Walter Steinmeier Federal President since 19 March 2017
Politicians of the East German [Communist] Party and regime
- Otto Grotewohl, minister president of the GDR
- Erich Honecker, leader of the GDR until 1989
- Egon Krenz, leader of the GDR after Honecker
- Erich Mielke, head of the Stasi
- Wilhelm Pieck, first president of the GDR
- Heinrich Rau, chairman of the German Economic Commission
- Günter Schabowski, member of politburo
- Willy Stoph, premier of the GDR
- Walter Ulbricht, leader of the GDR
Personalities of the Nazi">Nazism">Nazi Party and regime
- Artur Axmann, Hitler Youth leader
- Klaus Barbie, the "Butcher of Lyon"
- Fedor von Bock, field marshal
- Martin Bormann, Nazi leader
- Eva Braun, Hitler's mistress and finally his wife
- Wilhelm Canaris, admiral and chief of the Abwehr
- Karl Dönitz, Admiral of the Fleet, briefly Hitler's successor as President
- Anton Drexler, founder of German Workers' Party, which became the NSDAP
- Adolf Eichmann, Nazi SS-Obersturmbannführer
- Hans Frank, Governor-General of Poland
- Roland Freisler, Nazi judge
- Wilhelm Frick, Minister of the Interior
- Walther Funk, Minister of Economics
- Joseph Goebbels, Chancellor of Germany, propaganda chief for the Nazis
- Hermann Göring, Nazi, Reich Marshal and chief of Luftwaffe
- Rudolf Hess, Hitler's private secretary, later Deputy Führer
- Reinhard Heydrich, Nazi officer, head of the Sicherheitsdienst and RSHA
- Heinrich Himmler, Nazi head of the SS
- Rudolf Höss, commandant of Auschwitz
- Ernst Kaltenbrunner, Heydrich's successor at the RSHA
- Hans Kammler, author and organiser of first Death Camps
- Wilhelm Keitel, field marshal, head of the OKW
- Karl-Otto Koch, German first commandant of the Buchenwald concentration camp
- Robert Ley, head of the German Labour Front
- Erich von Manstein, field marshal and commander of the Eleventh Army, Army Group Don, and Army Group South
- Josef Mengele, German SS officer and a physician in the Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz
- Erhard Milch, Göring's second-in-command, Air Inspector General
- Walter Model, field marshal
- Heinrich Müller, head of the Gestapo
- Konstantin von Neurath, Foreign Minister in the early years of the regime
- Franz von Papen, Deputy Chancellor in Hitler's first cabinet
- Erich Raeder, Admiral of the Fleet
- Joachim von Ribbentrop, Nazi foreign minister
- Ernst Röhm, first Stabschef of the SA
- Erwin Rommel, Commander of the 7th Panzer Division and the Afrika Korps
- Alfred Rosenberg, Nazi ideologist
- Gerd von Rundstedt, field marshal, Commander-in-Chief East, commander of Army Group South, Commander-in-Chief West
- Hjalmar Schacht, Minister of Finance
- Baldur von Schirach, first Hitler Youth leader
- Albert Speer, "Hitler's architect", Minister of Armaments
- Gregor Strasser, left-wing Nazi leader
- Julius Streicher, Nazi Party leader in Franconia
Royalty
- Alix of Hesse and Rhine, German princess by birth before marrying Tsar Nicholas II to become a Russian tsarina
- Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha|Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha], Queen Victoria's husband and consort
- Albert, King of Saxony
- Anne of Cleves, Queen of England from 6 January to 9 July 1540 as the fourth wife of King Henry VIII
- Anton, King of Saxony
- Carol I of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, Prince and King of Romania
- Catherine the Great, Empress of Russia
- Charles IV, King of Germany 1346, Holy Roman Emperor 1355–78
- Charles V, King of Spain 1516, King of Germany 1519, Holy Roman Emperor 1530–56
- Charles, King of Württemberg
- Claus von Amsberg, diplomat and husband of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands
- Ferdinand of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, King of Romania
- Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Prince of Bulgaria, King of the Bulgarians
- Frederick I Barbarossa, King of Germany 1152, Holy Roman Emperor 1155–90
- Frederick I of Prussia, Elector of Brandenburg, King in Prussia
- Frederick I of Württemberg, Duke, Elector, and King of Württemberg
- Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Jerusalem
- Frederick II of Prussia, King of Prussia
- Friedrich III, German Emperor and King of Prussia
- Augustus II the Strong, Elector of Saxony, King of Poland
- Frederick Augustus I, Elector and King of Saxony
- Frederick Augustus II, King of Saxony
- Frederick Augustus III, King of Saxony
- William I of Prussia|Frederick William I], King of Prussia
- William II of Prussia|Frederick William II], King of Prussia
- Frederick William III, King of Prussia
- Frederick William IV, King of Prussia
- George, King of Saxony
- George V, King of Hanover
- Henry I the Fowler, King of Germany 919
- Henry II, King of Germany 1002, Holy Roman Emperor 1014–24
- Henry III, King of Germany 1039, Holy Roman Emperor 1046–56
- Henry IV, King of Germany 1056, Holy Roman Emperor 1084–1106
- Henry V, King of Germany 1106, Holy Roman Emperor 1111–25
- Henry VI, King of Germany 1190, Holy Roman Emperor 1191–97
- John, King of Saxony
- Louis IV, King of Germany 1314, Holy Roman Emperor 1328–47
- Ludwig I, King of Bavaria
- Ludwig II, King of Bavaria
- Ludwig III, King of Bavaria
- Maximilian I, King of Germany 1486, Holy Roman Emperor 1508–19
- Maximilian I, Elector and King of Bavaria
- Maximilian II, King of Bavaria
- Otto I the Great, King of Germany 936, Holy Roman Emperor 962–973
- Otto II, Holy Roman Emperor 973–983
- Otto III, King of Germany 983, Holy Roman Emperor 996–1002
- Otto of Greece King of Bavaria, King of the Hellenes
- Otto of Bavaria, King of Bavaria
- Wilhelm I, German Emperor and King of Prussia
- Wilhelm II, German Emperor and King of Prussia
- William I, King of Württemberg
- William II, King of Württemberg
Scientists and engineers
A–G
- Otto Wilhelm Hermann von Abich, mineralogist, geologist
- Michael Albeck, Israeli chemist; President of Bar-Ilan University
- Alois Alzheimer, psychiatrist and neuropathologist
- Peter Apian, mathematician, astronomer and cartographer
- Manfred von Ardenne, physicist
- Lykke Aresin, physician, sexologist and writer
- Anton de Bary, surgeon, botanist, microbiologist
- Johann Bayer, astronomer
- Henning Behrens, economist and political scientist
- Georg Bednorz, physicist Nobel Prize for Physics
- Emil von Behring, physician
- Karl Benz, inventor of the gasoline-powered automobile
- Friedrich Bessel, mathematician
- Hans Bethe, physicist
- Hennig Brand, alchemist; discoverer of phosphorus
- Max Born, physicist
- Robert Bosch, industrialist
- Carl F. W. Borgward, engineer
- Karl Ferdinand Braun, physicist
- Wernher von Braun, space engineer, rocket scientist
- Eduard Buchner, biochemist; recipient 1907 Nobel Prize for Chemistry for the discovery of enzymes
- Robert Wilhelm Bunsen, chemist
- Alfred Buntru, hydraulic engineer and SS officer
- Georg Cantor, mathematician
- Conrad of Leonberg, humanist scholar
- Nicolaus Copernicus, Prussian astronomer who wrote and spoke German; he is also often considered as a Pole
- Hans Gerhard Creutzfeldt, neuropathologist
- Adolf Daimler, mechanical engineer
- Gottlieb Daimler, inventor and engineer
- Gertrud Dorka, archaeologist, prehistorian and museum director
- Carl Duisberg, chemist and industrialist
- Rudolf Diesel, inventor of the Diesel engine
- Paul Ehrlich, physician
- Albert Einstein, physicist
- Gerhard Ertl, physicist
- Hans Jürgen Eysenck, psychologist
- Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit, physicist, engineer, and glass blower
- Adolf Eugen Fick, inventor of contact lenses
- Wolfgang Finkelnburg, physicist
- Hermann Emil Fischer, chemist and 1902 recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry
- Friederike Fless, president of the German Archaeological Institute
- Elvira Fölzer, early female archaeologist
- Joseph von Fraunhofer, physicist
- Gottlob Frege, mathematician and logicist
- Wilhelm Siegmund Frei, dermatologist
- Erich Fromm, psychologist
- Klaus Fuchs, physicist and spy
- Hans Geiger, physicist
- Carl Friedrich Gauss, mathematician
- Otto von Guericke, scientist
- Johannes Gutenberg, inventor of modern bookprinting
H–J
- Fritz Haber, chemist
- Ernst Haeckel, physician
- Otto Hahn, chemist
- Theodor W. Hänsch, physicist
- Bernhard Hantzsch, ornithologist
- Georg Hartmann, geographer
- Felix Hausdorff, mathematician
- Robert Havemann, chemist
- Ernst Heinkel, aircraft engineer
- Werner Karl Heisenberg, physicist
- Hermann Helmholtz, physicist
- Heinrich Rudolf Hertz, physicist
- Johannes Hevelius, astronomer
- David Hilbert, mathematician
- Magnus Hirschfeld, physician, sexologist, founder of the first ever committee for LGBTQ+ rights
- Johann Homann, geographer
- Erich Hueckel, physicist
- Alexander von Humboldt, explorer
- Carl Gustav Jacob Jacobi, mathematician
- Alfons Maria Jakob, neurologist
- Hugo Junkers, aircraft engineer
K–L
- Theodor Kaluza, mathematician, theoretical physicist
- Friedrich August Kekulé von Stradonitz, chemist
- Johannes Kepler, astronomer
- Gustav Robert Kirchhoff, physicist
- Martin Heinrich Klaproth, chemist
- Felix Klein, mathematician
- Klaus von Klitzing, physicist, Nobel Prize in Physics
- Wolfgang Franz von Kobell, mineralogist
- Robert Koch, physician
- Walter Karl Koch, surgeon
- Adolph Wilhelm Hermann Kolbe, chemist
- Leopold Kronecker, mathematician
- Ernst Eduard Kummer, mathematician
- Edmund Landau, mathematician
- Hermann Lattemann, balloon pilot and parachutist
- Max von Laue, physicist
- Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, mathematician
- Anton von Lenard">Anthony Clement of Saxony">Anton von Lenard, physicist
- Rudolph Lennhoff, public health doctor
- August Leskien, linguist
- Justus von Liebig, chemist
- Otto Lilienthal, aviation pioneer
- Ferdinand von Lindemann, mathematician
- Alexander Lippisch, aerodynamicist
- Friedrich Loeffler, bacteriologist
- Johann Josef Loschmidt, physicist, chemist
- Cornelia Lüdecke, polar researcher, historian
- Reimar Lüst, astrophysicist
M–R
- Ludwig Immanuel Magnus, mathematician
- Siegfried Marcus, automobile pioneer
- Wilhelm Maybach, car-engine and automobile constructor
- Wilhelm Messerschmitt, aircraft engineer
- Lothar Meyer, chemist
- Franz Mertens, mathematician
- August Ferdinand Möbius, mathematician, theoretical astronomer
- Ralph Bernstein, engineer
- Johannes Müller, physiologist
- Walther Nernst, physicist
- Carl Gottfried Neumann, mathematician
- Franz Ernst Neumann, mathematician
- Markolf Niemz, physicist, biophysicist, and author
- Claus Noé, economist
- Emmy Noether, mathematician
- Georg Ohm, physicist
- Wilhelm Ostwald, chemist; recipient 1909 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
- Nicolaus Otto, coinventor of the Otto cycle
- Bernhard Philberth, physicist, engineer, philosopher, theologian
- Lily Pincus, social worker, marital psychotherapist and author
- Max Planck, physicist
- Jesco von Puttkamer, space scientist, engineer and author
- Bernhard Riemann, mathematician
- Adam Ries, mathematician
- Wilhelm Röntgen, physicist; inventor of x-rays
S–V
- Carl Wilhelm Scheele, chemist
- Matthias Jakob Schleiden, botanist
- Heinrich Schliemann, archaeologist
- Christian Friedrich Schonbein, chemist
- Friedrich Hermann Schottky, mathematician
- Theodor Schwann, physiologist
- Hermann Amandus Schwarz, mathematician
- Karl Schwarzschild, physicist
- Ernst Stromer, Paleontologist
- Carl Semper, ecologist
- Cynthia Sharma, infectious disease researcher, biologist
- Werner von Siemens, inventor, industrialist
- Rolf Singer, mycologist
- Arnold Sommerfeld, physicist
- Eduard Adolf Strasburger, German-Polish professor; one of the most famous botanists of the 19th century
- Georg Steller, naturalist
- William Stern, psychologist, philosopher
- Alfred Stock, chemist
- Levi Strauss, jeans
- Emmy Mercedes Todtmann, glacial geologist
- Max Vasmer, linguist
- Rudolf Virchow, pioneer of medicine
W–Z
- Otto Wallach, physicist
- Hellmuth Walter, propulsion
- Felix Wankel, inventor of the Wankel engine
- Alfred Wegener, geologist, meteorologist
- Karl Weierstrass, mathematician
- August Weismann, biologist
- Carl Friedrich von Weizsäcker, physicist
- Hermann Weyl, mathematician
- Maximilian zu Wied-Neuwied, zoologist
- Wilhelm Wien, physicist
- Heinrich Wohlwill, electrical engineer
- Mieczysław Wolfke, Polish physicist of German descent
- Wilhelm Wundt, physiologist, psychologist
- Christian Zeller, mathematician
- Ferdinand von Zeppelin, inventor of the Zeppelin, founded the Zeppelin Airship company
- Ernst Zermelo, mathematician
- Konrad Zuse, computer pioneer
Sportspeople
A–G
- Franziska van Almsick, swimmer
- Adolf Anderssen, chess grandmaster
- Tobias Arlt, luger
- Rudi Ball, Hall of Fame ice hockey player, Olympic bronze 1932, World runner-up 1930, bronze 1934
- Michael Ballack, football player
- Karin Balzer, hurdler
- Marcel Barthel, professional wrestler
- Dieter Baumann, athlete
- Franz Beckenbauer, football player
- Boris Becker, tennis player
- Ludger Beerbaum, equestrian; four-time Olympic Gold medalist
- Elly Beinhorn, aviator
- Valery Belenky, Soviet/Azerbaijan/German Olympic gymnastics champion, bronze
- Isaac Bonga, NBA player
- Stefan Bellof, race car driver
- Gretel Bergmann, internationally renowned high jumper of the 1930s was excluded from the 1936 Olympic team due to being Jewish.
- Frank Biela, race car driver
- Oliver Bierhoff, football player
- Jérôme Boateng, football player
- Timo Boll, table tennis player
- Kathrin Boron, scmomuller; four-time Olympic gold medallist
- Daryl Boyle, ice hockey player for Germany
- Andreas Brehme, football player and coach
- Paul Breitner, football player
- Kai Budde, professional Magic: The Gathering player
- Bettina Bunge, tennis player
- Rudolf Caracciola, race car driver
- Rolf Decker, German-born American, football midfielder
- Uschi Disl, biathlete
- Leon Draisaitl, ice hockey player
- Heike Drechsler, athlete
- Mathew Dumba, ice hockey player
- Stefan Effenberg, football player
- Christian Ehrhoff, Olympian and National Hockey League hockey player; plays for the Buffalo Sabres
- David Elsner, ice hockey forward
- Erich Gottlieb Eliskases, leading chess player of the 1930s–40s, represented Austria, Germany and Argentina in international competition
- Kornelia Ender, swimmer; became the first woman swimmer to win four gold medals at a single Olympic Games, all in world record times
- Karin Enke, speed skater; one of the most dominant of the 1980s
- Jürgen Fanghänel, boxer
- Rudi Fink, boxer
- Birgit Fischer, kayaker
- Sven Fischer, biathlete
- Theodor Fischer, Olympic épée and foil fencer
- Alfred Flatow, gymnast, three-time Olympic champion, silver
- Gustav Felix Flatow, two-time Olympic champion
- Heinz-Harald Frentzen, racing driver
- Torsten Frings, football player
- Gottfried Fuchs, Olympic football player
- Erika Geisen, IFBB professional bodybuilder
- Natalie Geisenberger, luger
- Timo Glock, racing driver
- Marcel Goc, German Olympian and NHL hockey player; plays for the Nashville Predators
- Harold Goldsmith, born Hans Goldschmidt, American Olympic foil and épée fencer
- Mario Gómez, football player
- Steffi Graf, tennis player
- Michael Greis, biathlete
- Michael Gross, swimmer
- Ricco Groß, biathlete
- Jan Gustafsson, chess grandmaster and Janistan head of state
- Ludwig Guttmann, founder of the Paralympics
H–M
- Tommy Haas, tennis player
- Georg Hackl, luger
- Hans Halberstadt, German-born American Olympic fencer
- Dietmar Hamann, football player
- Sven Hannawald, ski jumper
- Armin Hary, athlete
- Thomas Häßler, football player
- Nico Hülkenberg, racing driver
- Nick Heidfeld, racing driver
- Lilli Henoch, world records in discus, shot put, and 4x100-m relay; shot by the Nazis in Latvia
- Jupp Heynckes, retired footballer and current manager of FC Bayern Munich
- Julius Hirsch, 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, football player and manager
- Leah Horowitz, Israeli Olympic hurdler
- Mats Hummels, football player
- Peter Hussing, boxer
- Robert Hübner, chess grandmaster
- Reinhold Joest, race car driver and racing team owner
- Klaus Junge, one of the youngest German chess grandmasters
- Enriko Kehl, muay thai kickboxing
- Oliver Kahn, football player
- Andy Kapp, curler
- Dirk Käsebier, boxer
- Fritz Keller, football administrator
- Udo Kiessling, first ice hockey player to compete at five Olympics
- Herbert Klein, Olympic bronze ; three world records
- Ralph Klein, Berlin-born Israeli basketball player and coach
- Jutta Kleinschmidt, rally driver
- Reiner Klimke, equestrian; won six gold and two bronze medals in dressage at the Summer Olympics
- Jürgen Klinsmann, football player and manager
- Jürgen Klopp, Football player and then manager
- Miroslav Klose, football player
- Georg Koch, football player
- Marita Koch, sprint track and field athlete who collected 30 world records
- Olaf Kölzig, German Olympian and National Hockey League goalie; plays for the Tampa Bay Lightning
- Andreas Köpke, football player
- Louis Krages, racing driver who raced under the pseudonym of "John Winter"
- Ingrid Krämer, diver and Olympic champion
- Toni Kroos, football player
- Uwe Krupp, ice hockey player and coach; won the Stanley Cup and played in an NHL All-Star Game
- Erich Kühnhackl, ice hockey player; named Germany's ice hockey player of the 20th century and member of the IIHF Hall of Fame
- Kevin Kuske, bobsledder; most successful Olympic athlete in bobsledding, winning four gold medals and two silver medals
- Philipp Lahm, football player
- André Lange, bobsledding champion
- Hermann Lang, champion race car driver
- Bernhard Langer, golfer
- Henry Laskau, racewalker; won 42 national titles; Pan American Games champion; four-time Maccabiah champion
- Emanuel Lasker, the second World Chess Champion
- Jens Lehmann, football player
- Ellen Lohr, racing driver
- Joachim Löw, football player and manager of Germany
- Klaus Ludwig, racing driver
- Marion Lüttge, javelin thrower
- Brooks Macek, ice hockey player for Germany
- Felix Magath, football player and manager
- Sepp Maier, football player
- Jan Martín, German-Israeli-Spanish basketball player
- Henry Maske, boxer
- Jochen Mass, racing driver
- Lothar Matthäus, football player
- Roland Matthes, swimmer and the most successful backstroke swimmer of all times
- Helene Mayer, foil fencer, Olympic champion
- Georg Meier, motorcycle racer
- Yona Melnik, Israeli Olympic judoka
- Markus Merk, top-level football referee
- Christoph Metzelder, football player
- Ulrike Meyfarth, high jumper
- Rosi Mittermaier, alpine ski champion
- Andreas Möller, football player
- Gerd Müller, football player
- Jörg Müller, race car driver
- Petra Müller, athlete
- Thomas Müller, football player
N–R
- Patricia Neske, figure skater
- Günter Netzer, football player
- Manuel Neuer, football player
- Gunda Niemann-Stirnemann, speed skater
- Aron Nimzowitsch, Latvian-Danish German chess master and chess writer
- Dirk Nowitzki, National Basketball Association player
- Kristin Otto, Olympic swimming champion
- Sylke Otto, luger
- Mesut Özil, football player
- Claudia Pechstein, speed skater
- Uta Pippig, athlete
- Lukas Podolski, football player
- Sarah Poewe, South African-German swimmer, Olympic bronze
- Ellen Preis , German-born Austrian Olympic champion foil fencer
- Daniel Prenn, German-Polish-British tennis player, highest world ranking #
6 - Birgit Prinz, football player
- Lina Radke, athlete
- Teodor Regedziński , Polish chess master of German origin; father's name was Reger
- Otto Rehhagel, football player and manager
- Annegret Richter, athlete
- Lars Riedel, athlete
- Maria Höfl-Riesch, World Cup alpine ski racer
- Jochen Rindt, German-born racing driver who represented Austria during his career
- Walter Röhrl, rally and racing driver
- Nico Rosberg, former German–Finnish Formula One driver
- Bernd Rosemeyer, racing driver
- Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, football player
S–Z
- Arian Sadiković, professional Kickboxer former title challenger at One Championship
- Matthias Sammer, football player and manager who won the 1996 Ballon d'Or
- Thomas Schaaf, football player and manager
- Max Schmeling, World Heavyweight Boxing Champion
- Paul Felix Schmidt, Estonian–German chess master
- Martin Schmitt, ski jumper
- Bernd Schneider, football player
- Bernd Schneider, racing driver
- Mehmet Scholl, football player
- Anja Schreiner, IFBB professional bodybuilder
- Detlef Schrempf, German-American former NBA player
- Carl Schuhmann, won four Olympic titles in gymnastics and wrestling at the 1896 Summer Olympics; becoming the most successful athlete at the inaugural Olympics of the modern era
- Harald Schumacher, football player
- Michael Schumacher, racing driver
- Ralf Schumacher, racing driver; brother of Michael Schumacher
- Dennis Schröder, NBA player
- Ralf Schumann, pistol shooter
- Bernd Schuster, football player and manager
- Rainer Schüttler, tennis player
- Armin Schwarz, racing driver
- Wolfgang Schmidt , olympian track and field
- Bastian Schweinsteiger, football player
- Werner Seelenbinder, wrestler
- Uwe Seeler, football player
- Dennis Seidenberg, ice hockey player
- Katja Seizinger, alpine ski champion
- Wolfgang Stark, football referee
- Renate Stecher, athlete
- Britta Steffen, swimmer; three-time Olympic medalist
- Michael Stich, tennis player
- Rolf Stommelen, racing driver
- Hans Stuck, racing driver
- Hans-Joachim Stuck, racing driver and son of Hans
- Marco Sturm, ice hockey player and coach; one-time NHL All-Star
- Siegbert Tarrasch, chess grandmaster
- Joseph Taussig, German-born American football quarterback
- Axel Teichmann, cross-country skier
- Richard Teichmann, leading German chess player, easily of grandmaster strength
- Axel Tischer, professional wrestler
- Toni Turek, football player
- Jan Ullrich, cyclist
- Wolfgang Unzicker, chess grandmaster
- Nicole Uphoff, equestrian
- Sebastian Vettel, Formula One driver
- Berti Vogts, football player and manager
- Johannes Voigtmann, basketball player
- Rudi Völler, football player
- Sebastian Vollmer, American football player, first German NFL draft pick; plays for the New England Patriots
- Katrin Wagner-Augustin, sprint canoer
- Ralf Waldmann, motorcycle racer
- Fritz Walter, football player
- Fritz Walter, football player
- Ulrich Wehling, won the nordic combined event in the Winter Olympics three consecutive times, in 1972, 1976, and 1980
- Jens Weißflog, ski jumper
- Tobias Wendl, luger
- Moritz Wagner, NBA player for the Los Angeles Lakers
- Isabell Werth, equestrian and world champion in dressage; holds the record for the most Olympic medals won by any equestrian athlete
- Kati Wilhelm, biathlete
- Joachim Winkelhock, racing driver
- Manfred Winkelhock, racing driver; brother of Joachim Winkelhock
- Hans Günter Winkler, show jumping rider
- Katarina Witt, figure skater
- Bärbel Wöckel, sprinter
- Sigrun Wodars, athlete
- Jenny Wolf, speed skater
- Erik Zabel, cyclist
- Christian Ziege, football player and manager
- Johannes Zukertort, German Polish-Jewish chessmaster
Theologians, saints and beatified persons
- Heinrich Abeken, theologian
- Johannes Agricola, Protestant reformer
- Albertus Magnus, medieval philosopher and theologian
- Eusebius Amort
- Pope Benedict XVI
- Dietrich Bonhoeffer, theologian
- Johannes Bugenhagen, Protestant reformer of Pomerania and Denmark; theologian
- Rudolf Bultmann
- Pope Clement II
- Pope Damasus II
- Alfred Delp
- Eugen Drewermann
- Johann Eck
- Anne Catherine Emmerich
- Matthias Faber
- Pope Gregory V
- Adolf Harnack
- Hedwig of Andech
- Johann Gottfried Herder, poet, translator, philosopher and theologian
- Dietrich von Hildebrand
- Clemens August Graf von Galen, beatified, cardinal
- Thomas à Kempis, canon regular
- Adolph Kolping, beatified, priest
- Hans Küng
- Karl Lehmann
- Pope Leo IX
- Martin Luther, Protestant Reformation
- Philipp Melanchthon, Protestant Reformation
- Moses Mendelssohn
- Jürgen Moltmann, theologian
- Bernhard Philberth, physicist, engineer, philosopher, theologian
- Karl Rahner, theologian
- Friedrich Schleiermacher, theologian, philosopher
- Albert Schweitzer, musician, physician, pastor, philosopher and theologian
- Dorothee Sölle
- Edith Stein, saint, nun, victim of the Holocaust
- Johann Tetzel, monk
- Carsten Peter Thiede, theologian, New Testament historian, chaplain
- Helmut Thielicke, theologian
- Paul Tillich, theologian, philosopher
- Pope Victor II
Militants
- Sophie Scholl, member of the German resistance in World War II
- Linda Wenzel, ISIS bride
Others
- Katja von der Bey, art historian, feminist
- Thomas Bach, lawyer, former fencer
- Franz Borkenau, social scientist
- Gottfried Gabriel Bredow, historian
- Moritz Brosch, historian
- Dieter Claessens, sociologist
- Ursula Cotta, benefactor
- Thomas Druyen, sociologist
- Shlomo Eckstein, Israeli economist and president of Bar-Ilan University
- Gudrun Ensslin, terrorist
- Michael Fassbender, actor
- Siegfried Fischbacher, magician, conservationist
- Reinhard Furrer, astronaut
- Andreas Gaill, jurist
- Margarete Gütschow, archaeologist
- Herschel Grynszpan, Polish-Jewish refugee turned assassin
- Kerstin Günther, business executive
- Johann Gutenberg, printer
- Hildegard von Bingen, abbess, mystic
- Roy Horn, magician, conservationist
- Karen Horney, psychoanalyst
- Heribert Illig, historian
- Peter Hoffmann, awarded outstanding historian
- Sigmund Jähn, first German in space
- Bruno Kahl, intelligence administrative lawyer
- Erhart Kirfel, businessman, finance controller of the SPD
- Henry Kissinger, German-American diplomat who served as the 56th United States Secretary of State under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford
- René König, sociologist
- Siegfried Kracauer
- Mahide Lein, LGBTQ+ activist
- Christian Frederick Martin, inventor of the steel-string guitar
- Ulrike Meinhof, journalist and terrorist
- Ulf Merbold, astronaut
- Cläre Mjøen, translator, women's rights activist and eugenicist
- Karl Neumeyer, Jewish jurist
- Carl von Ossietzky, journalist and pacifist
- Ferdinand Porsche, designer and founder of Porsche
- Ferry Porsche, automobile designer and son of Ferdinand Porsche
- Ferdinand Alexander Porsche, designer and member of the Porsche family
- Ludwig Quidde, historian and pacifist
- Leopold von Ranke, historian
- Paul Reuter, entrepreneur, pioneer of telegraphy and news reporting
- Dora Richter, first known woman to undergo sex reassignment surgery
- Margarete Rosenberg, lesbian Holocaust survivor
- Mathias Rust, aviator who landed on Moscow's Red Square in 1987
- Ruth Rissing-van Saan, lawyer and chair judge
- Helmut Schelsky, sociologist
- Oskar Schindler, industrialist; credited with saving the lives of 1,200 Jews during the Holocaust
- Hannelore Schmatz, mountaineer
- Heffa Schücking, environmentalist
- Albert Schweitzer, physician, humanitarian
- Henry Shultz, emigrant to the United States, entrepreneur
- Guy Spier, author and investor
- Pauline Staegemann, socialist, feminist and trade unionist
- Claus von Stauffenberg, Operation Valkyrie
- Ilse Totzke, Holocaust survivor
- Frederick Trump, businessman, patriarch of the Trump family
- Hans-Hasso von Veltheim Indologist, Anthroposophist
- Ulrich Walter, astronaut
- Alfred Weber, sociologist
- Max Weber, sociologist
- Diedrich Hermann Westermann, linguist
- Ruth Westheimer, German-American sex therapist, talk show host, author, Doctor of Education, Holocaust survivor, and former Haganah sniper.
- William the Silent, German-born main leader of the Dutch revolt against the Spanish Habsburgs
- Johann Joachim Winckelmann, art historian and archaeologist
- Karl Witte, jurist and scholar of Dante Alighieri
- Friedrich Heinrich Zinckgraf, gallery owner