# List of Germans

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

## Architects

* Walter Gropius (1883–1969), architect
* Carl Ludvig Engel (1778–1840), architect
* Leo von Klenze (1784–1864), architect
* Balthasar Neumann (1687–1753), architect and engineer
* Matthäus Daniel Pöppelmann (1662–1736), architect
* Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (1886–1969), architect
* Karl Friedrich Schinkel (1781–1841), architect and painter
* Johann Conrad Schlaun (1695–1773), architect
* Gottfried Semper (1803–1879), architect
* Albert Speer (1905–1981), architect
* Wilhelm Kreis (1873–1955), architect

## Artists
### A–M

* Hans von Aachen (1552–1615), mannerist painter
* Albrecht Altdorfer (1480–1538), painter
* Gertrud Arndt (1903–2000), photographer; pioneering self-portraiture
* 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

## Company founders
### A–M

* Karl Albrecht (1920–2014) and Theo Albrecht (1922–2010), founder of Aldi
* Ludwig Bamberger (1823–1899), co-founder of Deutsche Bank
* John Jacob Bausch (1830–1926), co-founder of Bausch & Lomb, makers of contact lenses and Ray-Ban sunglasses
* Friedrich Bayer (1825–1880), founder of what would become Bayer, chemical and pharmaceutical company
* Hans Beck (1929–2009), founder of Playmobil
* Paul Beiersdorf (1836–1896), founded Beiersdorf AG, manufacturers of Nivea, Eucerin
* Melitta Bentz (1873–1950), invented the coffee filter and started Melitta, manufacturers of coffee, paper coffee filters and coffee makers
* Karl Benz (1844–1929), inventor of the gasoline-powered automobile; co-founder of the automobile manufacturer Mercedes-Benz
* Maximilian Delphinius Berlitz (1852–1921), founder of Berlitz Language Schools
* Carl Bertelsmann (1791–1850), founder of Bertelsmann AG, subsidiaries include Random House and BMG
* Johann Adam Birkenstock, in 1774 founded Birkenstock shoe company
* Hermann Blohm (1848–1930), in 1877, co-founder of Blohm+Voss, manufacturer of ships
* Carl F. W. Borgward (1890–1963), founder of Borgward
* August Borsig (1804–1854), founder of Borsig Werke
* Robert Bosch (1861–1942), industrialist, engineer and inventor; founder of Robert Bosch GmbH
* Hugo Boss (1885–1948), fashion designer, founder of Hugo Boss 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
* Adolf Dassler (1900–1978), founder of sportswear company Adidas
* Rudolf Dassler (1898–1974), founder of sportwear company Puma
* Adelbert Delbrück (1822–1899), co-founder of Deutsche Bank
* Guido Henckel von Donnersmarck (1830–1916), founder of company Schlesische AG für Bergbau und Zinkhüttenbetrieb
* Claude Dornier (1884–1969), founder of Dornier Flugzeugwerke
* Friedrich Engelhorn (1821–1902), founder of the chemical company BASF
* Kaspar Faber (1730–1784), founder of Faber-Castell, manufacturers of office supplies, art supplies, writing instruments and leather goods
* Günther Fielmann (1939–2024), founder of Fielmann
* Wilhelm von Finck (1848–1924), co-founder of Munich Re and Allianz
* Eduard Fresenius (1874–1946), founder of Fresenius
* Jakob Fugger the Elder (1368–1469), founder of Fugger bank
* Marcus Goldman (1821–1904), co-founder of Goldman Sachs
* Max Grundig (1908–1989), founder of Grundig
* Max Herz (1905–1965), co-founder of Tchibo
* Ernst Heinkel (1888–1958), founder of Heinkel, manufacturer of airplanes
* Richard Hellmann (1876–1971), founder of Hellmann's Mayonnaise
* Friedrich Karl Henkel (1848–1930), founder of Henkel
* J.A. Henckels, manufacturers of kitchen knives, scissors, cookware and flatware
* August Horch (1868–1951), founder of Audi automobile company in 1909
* Helmut Horten (1909–1987), founder of Horten AG
* August Howaldt (1809–1883), founder of Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft in 1835
* Hugo Junkers (1859–1935), founder of Junkers, manufacturer of airplanes in 1895
* Rudolph Karstadt (1856–1944), founder of Karstadt
* Ernst Keil (1816–1878), founder and publisher of Die Gartenlaube
* Carl Kellner (1826–1855), founder of Ernst Leitz GmbH, which later became Leica Camera AG, Leica Geosystems AG, and Leica Microsystems AG, producing cameras, geosurvey equipment and microscopes
* Peter Klöckner (1863–1940), founder of Klöckner-Humboldt-Deutz AG and Klöckner & Co
* Carl Heinrich Theodor Knorr (1800–1875) founder of Knorr
* Friedrich Krupp (1787–1826), steel manufacturer and founder of the steel producers ThyssenKrupp 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
* 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
* Emil Rathenau (1838–1915), founder of AEG
* Paul Reuter (1816–1899), pioneer of telegraphy and news reporting; founder of Reuters news agency
* Hans Riegel, Sr. (1893–1945), founder of Haribo, manufacturer of gummy and jelly sweets
* Nathan Mayer Rothschild (1777–1836), founder of British company N M Rothschild & Sons
* Hugo Sack (1860–1909), cofounder of Sack & Kiesselbach and founder of Sack, GmbH
* Ernst Christian Friedrich Schering (1824–1889), founder of the pharmaceutical company Schering AG
* Gustav Schickedanz (1895–1977), founder of Quelle
* Anton Schlecker (born 1944), founder of Schlecker
* Ernst Schmidt and Wilhelm Schmidt-Ruthenbeck (1906–1988), founders of Metro AG
* Fritz Sennheiser (1912–2010), founder of Sennheiser Electronic GmbH & Co. KG, specializing in high fidelity products
* Georg von Siemens (1839–1901), co-founder of Deutsche Bank
* Werner von Siemens (1816–1892), inventor, founder of Siemens, electronics and electrical engineering company
* Axel Springer (1912–1985), publisher, founder of Axel Springer SE
* J.S. Staedtler, in 1835 founded Staedtler Mars GmbH & Co. KG, suppliers of writing, artist, and engineering drawing instruments
* Bruno Steinhoff (born 1937), founder of Steinhoff
* Henry E. Steinway (1797–1871), founder of the piano company Steinway & Sons
* Hugo Stinnes (1870–1924), co-founder of Rheinisch-Westfälisches Elektrizitätswerk AG
* August Storck-Oberwelland, in 1903 founder of Werther's Sugar Confectionery Factory, now August Storck AG
* Franz Ströher (born c. 1854–1936), in 1880 founded cosmetics company Wella 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

## Fashion models

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

## Fashionmakers

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

## Film and theatre
### Actresses and actors
#### A–M

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

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

## Literature
### Classic

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

### Major

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

### Contemporary

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

## Humorists, cabaret performers and comedians

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

## Journalists

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

## Mathematicians

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

## Military

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

## Music
### Composers

* Carl Friedrich Abel (1725–1787), composer
* Martin Agricola (1466–1506), composer
* Siegfried Alkan (1858–1941), composer
* Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (1714–1788), composer; son of Johann Sebastian Bach
* Johann Christian Bach (1735–1782), composer; son of Johann Sebastian Bach
* Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750), composer
* Klaus Badelt (born 1967), film composer (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
* 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
#### 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

## Philosophy
### Classic

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

### Major

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

### Contemporary

* Hans Albert (1921–2023), philosopher
* Kurt Flasch (born 1930), philosopher
* Jürgen Habermas (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

## Politicians
### Miscellaneous

* Rainer Barzel (1924–2006), leader of the party Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU)
* August Bebel (1840–1913), co-founder of the Social Democratic Party of Germany
* Rudolf von Bennigsen (1824–1902), founder of the National Liberal Party
* Eduard Bernstein (1850–1932), Social Democratic leader
* Heinrich von Brentano (1904–1964), Foreign Minister Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU)
* Julius Curtius (1877–1948), Foreign Minister (German People's Party)
* Matthias Erzberger (1875–1921), Catholic Center party leader
* Joschka Fischer (born 1948), Foreign Minister and vice chancellor 1998–2005 (Bündnis 90/Die Grünen)
* Heinrich Karl Fricke (1884–1945), diplomat, businessperson, and spy
* Hans-Dietrich Genscher (1927–2016), former minister for foreign affairs (FDP)
* Jakob Grimm (1785–1863), parliamentarian
* Wilhelm Grimm (1786–1859), parliamentarian
* Gregor Gysi (born 1948), former leader of the Party of Democratic Socialism
* Georg Hornstein (1900–1942), resistance fighter during the period of National Socialism (Nazism)
* Alfred Hugenberg (1865–1951), leader of the German National People's Party
* Johann Jacoby (1805–1877), radical democrat in Prussia
* Luise Kähler (1869–1955), trade union leader, founding member of Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED)
* Karl Kautsky (1854–1938), Social Democratic leader and theoretician
* Petra Kelly (1947–1992), co-founder of the German Green Party
* Roland Koch (born 1958), Minister-President of Hesse
* Oskar Lafontaine (born 1943), socialist, former minister for finance
* Ferdinand Lassalle (1825–1864), democrat and socialist
* Karl Liebknecht (1871–1919), socialist
* Wilhelm Liebknecht (1826–1900), co-founder of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD)
* Rosa Luxemburg (1870–1919), left-wing Social Democratic leader
* Gudrun Masloch (born 1969), German ambassador to Latvia
* Jakob Maria Mierscheid (born 1933), virtual parliamentarian (SPD)
* Hans Modrow (1928–2023), former leader of GDR, honorary chairman of PDS
* Hermann Müller (1876–1931), Chancellor of the Weimar Republic (SPD)
* Erich Ollenhauer (1901–1963), leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD)
* Antonie "Toni" Pfülf (1877–1933), female socialist (SPD)
* Walther Rathenau (1867–1922), foreign minister (DDP)
* Eugen Richter (1838–1906), liberal politician
* Wolfgang Schäuble (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
* Constantin Fehrenbach (1852–1926), Chancellor of the Weimar Republic (Centre)
* Georg von Hertling (1843–1919), Imperial Chancellor
* Adolf Hitler (1889–1945), Leader of Nazi Germany, combining legally the offices of President and Chancellor ("Führer und Reichskanzler") (1933–1945)
* Prince Chlodwig zu Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst (1819–1901), Imperial Chancellor
* Hans Luther (1885–1962), Chancellor of the Weimar Republic
* Wilhelm Marx (1863–1946), Chancellor of the Weimar Republic (Centre)
* Prince Maximilian of Baden (1867–1929), Last Imperial Chancellor
* Georg Michaelis (1857–1936), Imperial Chancellor
* Franz von Papen (1879–1969), Chancellor of the Weimar Republic
* Philipp Scheidemann (1865–1939), Chancellor of Weimar Republic (SPD)
* Kurt von Schleicher (1882–1934), last Chancellor of the Weimar Republic
* Gustav Stresemann (1878–1929), Chancellor of the Weimar Republic (DVP)
* Joseph Wirth (1879–1956), Chancellor of the Weimar Republic (Centre)

### Chancellors of Germany (after World War II)

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

## Royalty

* Alix of Hesse and Rhine (1872–1918), German princess by birth before marrying Tsar Nicholas II to become a Russian tsarina
* Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (1819–1861), Queen Victoria's husband and consort
* Albert (1828–1902), King of Saxony (1873–1902)
* Anne of Cleves (1515–1557), Queen of England from 6 January to 9 July 1540 as the fourth wife of King Henry VIII
* Anton (1755–1836), King of Saxony (1827–1836)
* Carol I of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen (1839–1914), Prince (1867–1881) and King (1881–1914) of Romania
* Catherine the Great (1729–1796), Empress of Russia
* Charles IV (1316–1378), King of Germany 1346, Holy Roman Emperor 1355–78
* Charles V (1500–1558), King of Spain 1516, King of Germany 1519, Holy Roman Emperor 1530–56
* Charles (1823–1891), King of Württemberg (1823–1891)
* Claus von Amsberg (1926–2002), diplomat and husband of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands
* Ferdinand of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen (1865–1927), King of Romania (1924–1927)
* Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (1861–1948), Prince of Bulgaria (1887–1908), King (or Tsar) of the Bulgarians (1908–1918)
* Frederick I Barbarossa (1122–1190), King of Germany 1152, Holy Roman Emperor 1155–90
* Frederick I of Prussia (1657–1713), Elector of Brandenburg (1688–1713), King in Prussia (1701–1713)
* Frederick I of Württemberg (1754–1816), Duke (1797–1803), Elector (1803–1806), and King (1806–1816) of Württemberg
* Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor (1194–1250), Holy Roman Emperor and King of Jerusalem
* Frederick II of Prussia (1712–1786), King of Prussia (1740–1786)
* Friedrich III (1831–1888), German Emperor and King of Prussia (1888)
* Augustus II the Strong (1670–1733), Elector of Saxony (1694), King of Poland (1697–1733)
* Frederick Augustus I (1750–1827), Elector (1763–1806) and King (1806–1827) of Saxony
* Frederick Augustus II (1797–1854), King of Saxony (1836–1854)
* Frederick Augustus III (1865–1932), King of Saxony (1904–1918)
* Frederick William I (1688–1740), King of Prussia (1713–1740)
* Frederick William II (1744–1797), King of Prussia (1786–1797)
* Frederick William III (1770–1840), King of Prussia (1797–1840)
* Frederick William IV (1795–1861), King of Prussia (1840–1861)
* George (1832–1904), King of Saxony (1902–1904)
* George V (1819–1878), King of Hanover (1851–1866)
* Henry I the Fowler (876–936), King of Germany 919
* Henry II (972–1024), King of Germany 1002, Holy Roman Emperor 1014–24
* Henry III (1017–1056), King of Germany 1039, Holy Roman Emperor 1046–56
* Henry IV (1050–1106), King of Germany 1056, Holy Roman Emperor 1084–1106
* Henry V (1081–1125), King of Germany 1106, Holy Roman Emperor 1111–25
* Henry VI (1165–1197), King of Germany 1190, Holy Roman Emperor 1191–97
* John (1801–1873), King of Saxony (1854–1873)
* Louis IV (1281–1347), King of Germany 1314, Holy Roman Emperor 1328–47
* Ludwig I (1786–1868), King of Bavaria (1825–1848)
* Ludwig II (1845–1886), King of Bavaria (1864–1886)
* Ludwig III (1845–1921), King of Bavaria (1913–1918)
* Maximilian I (1459–1519), King of Germany 1486, Holy Roman Emperor 1508–19
* Maximilian I (1756–1825), Elector (1799–1805) and King (1805–1825) of Bavaria
* Maximilian II (1811–1864), King of Bavaria (1848–1864)
* Otto I the Great (912–973), King of Germany 936, Holy Roman Emperor 962–973
* Otto II (955–983), Holy Roman Emperor 973–983
* Otto III (980–1002), King of Germany 983, Holy Roman Emperor 996–1002
* Otto of Greece King of Bavaria (1815–1867), King of the Hellenes (1833–1862)
* Otto of Bavaria (1848–1916), King of Bavaria (1886–1913)
* Wilhelm I (1797–1888), German Emperor (1871–1888) and King of Prussia (1861–1888)
* Wilhelm II (1859–1941), German Emperor and King of Prussia (1888–1918)
* William I (1781–1864), King of Württemberg (1816–1864)
* William II (1848–1921), King of Württemberg (1891–1918)

## Scientists and engineers
### A–G

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

### H–J

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

### K–L

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

### M–R

* (Albertus Magnus see "A")
* Ludwig Immanuel Magnus, mathematician
* Siegfried Marcus (1831–1898), automobile pioneer
* Wilhelm Maybach (1846–1929), car-engine and automobile constructor
* Wilhelm Messerschmitt (1898–1978), aircraft engineer
* Lothar Meyer (1830–1895), chemist
* Franz Mertens (1840–1927), mathematician
* August Ferdinand Möbius (1790–1868), mathematician, theoretical astronomer
* Ralph Bernstein (born 1933), engineer
* Johannes Müller (1801–1858), physiologist
* Walther Nernst (1864–1941), physicist
* Carl Gottfried Neumann (1832–1925), mathematician
* Franz Ernst Neumann (1798–1895), mathematician
* Markolf Niemz (born 1964), physicist, biophysicist, and author
* 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
* Emmy Mercedes Todtmann (1888–1973), glacial geologist
* Max Vasmer (1886–1962), linguist
* Rudolf Virchow (1821–1902), pioneer of medicine

### W–Z

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

## Sportspeople
### A–G

* Franziska van Almsick (born 1978), swimmer
* Adolf Anderssen (1818–1879), chess grandmaster
* Tobias Arlt (born 1987), luger
* Rudi Ball (1911–1975), Hall of Fame ice hockey player, Olympic bronze 1932, World runner-up 1930, bronze 1934
* Michael Ballack (born 1976), football player
* Karin Balzer (1938–2019), hurdler
* Marcel Barthel (born 1990), professional wrestler
* Dieter Baumann (born 1965), athlete
* Franz Beckenbauer (1945–2024), football player
* Boris Becker (born 1967), tennis player
* Ludger Beerbaum (born 1963), equestrian; four-time Olympic Gold medalist
* Elly Beinhorn (1907–2007), aviator
* Valery Belenky (born 1969), Soviet/Azerbaijan/German Olympic gymnastics champion (team combined exercises), bronze (individual combined exercises)
* Isaac Bonga, NBA player
* Stefan Bellof (1957–1985), race car driver
* Gretel Bergmann (1914–2017), internationally renowned high jumper of the 1930s was excluded from the 1936 Olympic team due to being Jewish.
* Frank Biela (born 1964), race car driver
* Oliver Bierhoff (born 1968), football player
* Jérôme Boateng (born 1988), football player
* Timo Boll, table tennis player
* Kathrin Boron (born 1969), scmomuller; four-time Olympic gold medallist
* Daryl Boyle (born 1987), ice hockey player for Germany
* Andreas Brehme (born 1960), football player and coach
* Paul Breitner (born 1951), football player
* Kai Budde (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

### H–M

* Tommy Haas (born 1978), tennis player
* Georg Hackl (born 1966), luger
* Hans Halberstadt (1885–1966), German-born American Olympic fencer
* Dietmar Hamann (born 1973), football player
* Sven Hannawald (born 1974), ski jumper
* Armin Hary (born 1937), athlete
* Thomas Häßler (born 1966), football player
* Nico Hülkenberg (born 1987), racing driver
* Nick Heidfeld (born 1977), racing driver
* Lilli Henoch (1899–1942), world records in discus, shot put, and 4x100-m relay; shot by the Nazis in Latvia
* Jupp Heynckes (born 1945), retired footballer and current manager of FC Bayern Munich
* Julius Hirsch (1892–1945), Olympian football player and first Jewish member of the national team, two-time Germany team champion, awarded the Iron Cross during World War I, murdered in Auschwitz concentration camp.
* Ottmar Hitzfeld (born 1949), football player and manager
* Leah Horowitz (1933–1956), Israeli Olympic hurdler
* Mats Hummels (born 1988), football player
* Peter Hussing (1948–2012), boxer
* Robert Hübner (1948–2025), chess grandmaster
* Reinhold Joest (born 1937), race car driver and racing team owner
* Klaus Junge (1924–1945), one of the youngest German chess grandmasters
* Enriko Kehl (born 1992), muay thai kickboxing
* Oliver Kahn (born 1969), football player
* Andy Kapp (born 1967), curler
* Dirk Käsebier (born 1966), boxer
* Fritz Keller (born 1957), football administrator
* Udo Kiessling (born 1955), first ice hockey player to compete at five Olympics
* Herbert Klein (1923–2001), Olympic bronze (200-m breaststroke); three world records
* Ralph Klein (1931–2008), Berlin-born Israeli basketball player and coach
* Jutta Kleinschmidt, rally driver
* Reiner Klimke (1936–1999), equestrian; won six gold and two bronze medals in dressage at the Summer Olympics
* Jürgen Klinsmann (born 1964), football player and manager
* Jürgen Klopp (born 1967), Football player and then manager
* Miroslav Klose (born 1978), football player
* Georg Koch (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
* 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
* Carl Schuhmann (1869–1946), won four Olympic titles in gymnastics and wrestling at the 1896 Summer Olympics; becoming the most successful athlete at the inaugural Olympics of the modern era
* Harald Schumacher (born 1954), football player
* Michael Schumacher (born 1969), racing driver (seven-time Formula One World Champion)
* Ralf Schumacher (born 1975), racing driver; brother of Michael Schumacher
* Dennis Schröder, NBA player
* Ralf Schumann (born 1962), pistol shooter
* Bernd Schuster (born 1959), football player and manager
* Rainer Schüttler, tennis player
* Armin Schwarz (born 1963), racing driver
* Wolfgang Schmidt (athlete) (born 1954), olympian track and field
* Bastian Schweinsteiger (born 1984), football player
* Werner Seelenbinder (1904–1944), wrestler
* Uwe Seeler (1936–2022), football player
* Dennis Seidenberg (born 1981), ice hockey player
* Katja Seizinger, alpine ski champion
* Wolfgang Stark (born 1969), football referee
* Renate Stecher (born 1950), athlete
* Britta Steffen (born 1983), swimmer; three-time Olympic medalist
* Michael Stich (born 1968), tennis player
* Rolf Stommelen (1943–1983), racing driver
* Hans Stuck (1900–1978), racing driver
* Hans-Joachim Stuck, racing driver and son of Hans
* Marco Sturm (born 1978), ice hockey player and coach; one-time NHL All-Star (1999)
* Siegbert Tarrasch (1862–1934), chess grandmaster
* Joseph Taussig (1877–1947), German-born American football quarterback
* Axel Teichmann (born 1979), cross-country skier
* Richard Teichmann (1868–1925), leading German chess player, easily of grandmaster strength
* Axel Tischer (born 1986), professional wrestler
* Toni Turek (1919–1984), football player
* Jan Ullrich (born 1973), cyclist
* Wolfgang Unzicker (1925–2006), chess grandmaster
* Nicole Uphoff (born 1967), equestrian
* Sebastian Vettel, Formula One driver (four-time World Champion)
* Berti Vogts, football player and manager
* Johannes Voigtmann (born 1992), basketball player
* Rudi Völler (born 1960), football player
* Sebastian Vollmer (born 1984), American football player, first German NFL draft pick; plays for the New England Patriots
* Katrin Wagner-Augustin (born 1977), sprint canoer
* Ralf Waldmann, motorcycle racer
* Fritz Walter (1920–2002), football player
* Fritz Walter (born 1960), football player
* Ulrich Wehling (born 1952), won the nordic combined event in the Winter Olympics three consecutive times, in 1972, 1976, and 1980
* Jens Weißflog (born 1964), ski jumper
* Tobias Wendl (born 1987), luger
* Moritz Wagner, NBA player for the Los Angeles Lakers
* Isabell Werth (born 1969), equestrian and world champion in dressage; holds the record for the most Olympic medals won by any equestrian athlete
* Kati Wilhelm (born 1976), biathlete
* Joachim Winkelhock, racing driver
* Manfred Winkelhock (1951–1985), racing driver; brother of Joachim Winkelhock
* Hans Günter Winkler (1926–2018), show jumping rider
* Katarina Witt (born 1965), figure skater
* Bärbel Wöckel (born 1955), sprinter
* Sigrun Wodars (born 1965), athlete
* Jenny Wolf (born 1979), speed skater
* Erik Zabel (born 1970), cyclist
* Christian Ziege (born 1972), football player and manager
* Johannes Zukertort (1842–1888), German Polish-Jewish chessmaster

## Theologians, saints and beatified persons

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

## Militants

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

## Others

* 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
* Henry Kissinger (1923–2023), German-American diplomat
* 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
* Karl Neumeyer (1869–1941), Jewish jurist
* Carl von Ossietzky (1889–1938), journalist and pacifist
* Ferdinand Porsche (1875–1951), designer and founder of Porsche
* Ferry Porsche (1909–1998), automobile designer and son of Ferdinand Porsche
* Ferdinand Alexander Porsche (1935–2012), designer and member of the Porsche family
* Ludwig Quidde (1858–1941), historian and pacifist
* Leopold von Ranke (1795–1886), historian
* Paul Reuter (1816–1899), entrepreneur, pioneer of telegraphy and news reporting
* Dora Richter (1891–presumed 1933), first known woman to undergo sex reassignment surgery
* Margarete Rosenberg (1910–1985), lesbian Holocaust survivor
* Mathias Rust (born 1968), aviator who landed on Moscow's Red Square in 1987
* Ruth Rissing-van Saan (born 1946), lawyer and chair judge
* Helmut Schelsky (1912–1984), sociologist
* Oskar Schindler (1908–1974), industrialist; credited with saving the lives of 1,200 Jews during the Holocaust
* Hannelore Schmatz, 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
* 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 (1928–2024), German-American sex therapist, talk show host, author, Doctor of Education, Holocaust survivor, and former Haganah sniper.
* William the Silent (1533–1584), German-born main leader of the Dutch revolt against the Spanish Habsburgs
* Johann Joachim Winckelmann (1717–1768), art historian and archaeologist
* Karl Witte (1800–1883), jurist and scholar of Dante Alighieri
* Friedrich Heinrich Zinckgraf (1878–1954), gallery owner

## More lists of Germans

* List of German astronauts
* List of German inventors and discoverers
* List of Alsatians and Lorrainians
* List of Baltic Germans
* List of German agriculture ministers
* List of German Jews
* List of German monarchs
* List of German popes
* List of Nobel laureates by country#Germany