52.5167° N, 13.3817° E

BERLIN

Most Famous People Born in Berlin, Germany

Notable people
15,664
Peak decade
1930s
Median birth year
1921
Most distinctive
Author 3.6×

A city where the 20th century happened twice. Berlin's notables are heavily clustered between the 1880s and the 1930s, then again from the 1960s onward — a shape that maps almost exactly onto Weimar collapse, division, and reunification. Authors, academics, chemists, physicists, and mathematicians dominate the older half; the younger half tilts toward actors, painters, and the film and historian trades of a rebuilt European capital.

Through the Centuries

One face per century — the most globally famous figure born in Berlin during each.

Notable Births by Decade

Click a decade to filter the list below. Peak: 1930s with 1,548 notable births.

What Berlin Is Known For

Click any row to filter the list of people below.

Actor is Berlin's biggest profession — 12% of all notables (1,953).

Berlin over-indexes on author3.6× the global rate.

Berlin under-produces football — only 0.2× the global rate.

  1. Actor1,953
  2. Politician1,573
  3. Painter629
  4. Writer585
  5. Author491
  6. Academic474
  7. Football395
  8. Lawyer313
  1. Author4913.6×
  2. Chemist1673.1×
  3. Academic4743.0×
  4. Physicist1852.8×
  5. Actor1,9532.4×
  6. Mathematician1622.1×
  7. Historian3051.8×
  8. Sculptor1801.8×
  1. Football3950.2×
  2. Singer1910.6×

Profession Mix Over Time

Each band shows a profession family's share of Berlin's notable births by decade. Hover the chart for the breakdown at any decade.

15001550160016501700175018001850190019502000
  • Film & TV
  • Writing
  • Politics & Law
  • Science
  • Sports
  • Art & Design
  • Other
All15,664
Sort By

Showing 1,101 of 15,664 notable people

13374 DESIGNER

Johannes Beeskow

1911 - 2005

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13375 PAINTER

Maria Kegel-Maillard

1917 - 1999

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13378 PAINTER

Walter Wichmann

1916 - 1970

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13393 PRIEST

Remigius Chmurzynski

1917 - 2006

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13405 DIPLOMAT

Anton Ruh

1912 - 1964

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13458 OFFICER

Egon August Aghta

1918 - 1945

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13465 POLITICIAN

Bernard Szczęsny

1919 - 1999

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13486 CIVIL SERVICE

Paul Skonieczny

1910 - 2001

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13505 ANTIFASCHIST

Käthe Tucholla

1910 - 1943

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13526 MUSIC

Hans Nathan (Musikwissenschaftler)

1910 - 1989

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13535 POLITICIAN

Johanna Bayer

1915 - 2000

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13544 POLITICIAN

Eva Schütte

1914 - 1998

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13548 POLITICIAN

Georg Letz

1919 - 1978

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13554 TRADE UNION

Heinz Neukrantz

1917 - 2004

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13565 POLITICIAN

Kurt Fischer (Politiker, 1910)

1910 - 1969

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13620 ARCHITECT

Gerhard Fritsche

1916 - 1965

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13633 POLITICIAN

Walter Mickin

1910 - 2001

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13634 SPORT

Max Bartoskiewicz

1913 - 1968

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13639 FOOTBALL

Giovanni Zenaro

Born 1914

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13641 ACADEMIC

Carlwalter Schreck

1917 - 1981

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13660 POLITICIAN

Josef Bergmann (Gewerkschafter)

1913 - 2005

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13663 OFFICER

Werner Canders

1914 - 1993

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13679 PHOTOGRAPHER

Sonja Georgi

1915 - 1957

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13690 POLITICIAN

Harry Bosse

1917 - 1999

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13693 POLITICIAN

Erich Weiland

1916 - 1992

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13707 POLITICIAN

Hans König (Politiker, 1916)

1916 - 1999

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13710 POLITICIAN

Elli Voigt

1912 - 1944

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13718 SPORT

Gerhard Huschke

1914 - 1974

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13725 JOURNALIST

Klaus Kahlenberg

1912 - 2006

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13728 OFFICER

Günther Amelung

1914 - 1944

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13732 ARTIST

Florian Breuer (Maler)

1916 - 1994

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13747 POLITICIAN

Paul Lindner (Widerstandskämpfer)

1911 - 1969

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13757 POLITICIAN

Wolfgang Kirsch (Politiker, 1913)

1913 - 1996

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13774 OFFICER

Ernst-Georg Kedzia

1914 - 1994

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13785 MILITAR

Heinz Werner (militaire)

1917 - 1978

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13795 POLITICIAN

Edith Lowka

1916 - 1989

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13810 OFFICER

Hans Engelien

1913 - 1945

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13811 SCULPTOR

Helga Hähnel

1918 - 2009

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13814 MINISTER

Diether von Wedel

1910 - 1983

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13815 OFFICER

Alexander von Arentschildt

1911 - 1999

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13821 OPFER

Alfred Selbiger

1914 - 1942

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13824 POLITICIAN

Irene Fleischhauer

1913 - 1998

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13826 OFFICER

Kurt Bade

1917 - 1988

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13835 POLITICIAN

Fritz Giersch

1915 - 1981

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13839 PHILANTHROP

Anna-Maria Kellen

1918 - 2017

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13844 OFFICER

Werner Damsch

1918 - 1994

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13845 BALLET

Anneliese von Oettingen

1917 - 2002

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13846 OFFICER

Alhard Freiherr von der Borch

1916 - 1975

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13850 SELLER

Ernst Laske

1915 - 2004

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13851 MILITAR

Rudolf Cleve

1919 - 1997

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13853 POLITICIAN

Karl Buckow

1915 - 1979

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13861 KOMMUNIST

Roman Rubinstein

1917 - 1999

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13885 POLITICIAN

Ferdinand Thomas

1913 - 1944

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13907 POLITICIAN

Gerhard Schmidt (Politiker, 1914)

1914 - 1990

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13912 PRIEST

Karl Heinz Möbius

1913 - 1976

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13933 POLITICIAN

Hans Freytag (Politiker)

1913 - 1982

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13944 WIDERSTAND

Lothar Salinger

1919 - 1943

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13975 BÜRGERRECHT

Siegbert Rotholz

1919 - 1943

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14015 LAWYER

Eberhard von Minckwitz

1910 - 1995

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14022 BANK

Stephen M. Kellen

1914 - 2004

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14040 PLAYER

Heinz Nickelsburg

1912 - 2001

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14076 POLITICIAN

Herbert Aust

1913 - 1953

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14085 GEWERKSCHAFT

Helmut Hillebrecht

Born 1912

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14092 PHOTOGRAPHER

Ilse Flöter

Born 1919

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14108 ATHLETIC

Karl Baumgarten

Born 1914

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14132 SPORT

Werner Gallinge

Born 1916

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14147 MINISTERIUM

Kurt Richter (MfS-Mitarbeiter, 1919)

1919 - 1975

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14166 ARCHITECT

Erich Hanke (Gärtner)

1912 - 1998

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14175 POLITICIAN

Werner Böhnke

1911 - 1997

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14189 WIDERSTAND

Hans Berger (Widerstandskämpfer)

1916 - 1943

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14195 POLITICIAN

Gerda Sredzki

1917 - 1995

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14215 SCULPTOR

Robert Stieler (Bildhauer)

1911 - 1967

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14221 JOURNALIST

Gerhard Rudolf Barsch

1913 - 1993

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14224 CHEMIST

Arnd Iloff

1910 - 2001

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14284 KIRCHE

Ingeborg Jacobson

1915 - 1942

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14309 DIPLOMAT

Carlos Sylvestre de Ouro Preto

1916 - 1985

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14348 MILITAR

Günther Pfeffer

1914 - 1966

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14374 COMPUTER SCIENTIST

Marianne Laqueur

1918 - 2006

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14397 KOMMUNIST

Ernst Horn (Politiker)

1912 - 2001

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14399 PLAYER

Erika Richter (Tischtennisspielerin)

1913 - 2000

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14413 POLITICIAN

Horst Hilbert

1919 - 2003

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14429 POLITICIAN

Erwin Freyer

1914 - 1992

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14436 POLITICIAN

Hans Köpf

1914 - 1978

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14451 LAWYER

Fritz Menne

Born 1919

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14452 ATHLETIC

Siegfried Schulz

Born 1910

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14461 WIDERSTAND

Heinz Joachim

1919 - 1942

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14478 POLITICIAN

Ulrich Osche

1911 - 1975

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14491 POLITICIAN

Gerda Boenke

1913 - 1944

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14511 POLITICIAN

Otto Schäfer (Politiker, 1912)

1912 - 1973

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14512 MITARBEITER

Hans-Joachim Krieger

Born 1914

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14523 ATHLETIC

Hilde Klusenwerth

1910 - 1999

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14525 SPORT

Gerhard Bolte

1918 - 1993

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14530 POLITICIAN

Willi von Helden

1915 - 1988

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14535 ATHLETIC

Harry Mehlhose

1914 - 1976

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14564 MISSING

Margarete Hohlbein

1911 - 2003

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14575 CHOREOGRAPHER

Marga Berndt

1911 - 2008

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14585 POLITICIAN

Adolf Färber

1912 - 1987

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14586 ACTOR

Hans-Jürgen Stumpf

1918 - 1980

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14596 KOMMUNIST

Herbert Splanemann

1912 - 1945

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14605 POLITICIAN

Siegfried Forstreuter

1914 - 1944

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14606 HISTORIAN

Werner Rosenberg (Offizier)

1911 - 1990

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14651 PAINTER

Claus Müller-Schönefeld

1910 - 1991

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14653 POLITICIAN

Herbert West

1911 - 1959

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14678 POLITICIAN

Johanna Kuzia

1916 - 1988

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14683 MUSIC

Marie Vandewart-Blaschke

1911 - 2006

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14731 VORSITZENDER

Theodor Goldstein

1912 - 1996

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14753 DIPLOMAT

Werner Wenning (Diplomat)

1914 - 1986

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14778 POLIZIST

Alfred Krumbach

1911 - 1963

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14780 OFFICER

Gerd von Born-Fallois

1913 - 1998

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14791 WIDERSTAND

Gerhard Meyer (Widerstandskämpfer)

1919 - 1942

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14817 DIPLOMAT

Kurt Schmidt (Diplomat)

Born 1918

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14841 SOLDIER

Gustav Borchardt

1916 - 1943

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14854 JOURNALIST

Ludwig Zempelburg

1918 - 2003

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14857 SOLDIER

Johann-Heinrich Fehler

1910 - 1993

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14860 SOLDIER

Hans-Heinrich Giessler

Born 1911

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14876 ANTHROPOLOGIST

Lieselotte Block

1918 - 2012

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14886 OFFICER

Franz Barsch

1911 - 1945

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14888 MUSIC

Heinrich Köhler (Cellist)

1914 - 2017

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14889 PLAYER

Helmut Deutschland

1918 - 2007

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14894 POLITICIAN

Heinz Reimann (Parteifunktionär)

1914 - 1985

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14917 CERAMIST

Barbara Klünder

1919 - 1988

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14921 VORSITZENDE

Ari Abraham Offenberg

1914 - 2007

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14923 SOLDIER

Georg-Wilhelm Basse

1917 - 1944

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14927 MISSING

Peter zu Bentheim-Tecklenburg-Rheda

1916 - 1987

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14936 HANDBALL

Ursula Müller (Handballspielerin)

1911 - 2014

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14941 POLITICIAN

Bodo Selge

1911 - 1996

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14945 ANALYST

Marianne Eckardt

1913 - 2018

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14956 SOLDIER

Dietrich von der Esch

1915 - 1944

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14972 SCREENWRITER

Johannes Szelinski

1911 - 2003

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14973 POLITICIAN

Georg Henschel (Politiker)

1912 - 1981

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14975 PAINTER

Joachim Dammer

1914 - 1986

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14983 PILOTO

Ulrich Mundt

1915 - 1945

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14986 POLITICIAN

Erich Tamm

1911 - 1988

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14988 POLITICIAN

Hildegard Schwarz

1914 - 1984

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14989 DIPLOMAT

Kurt Schnell

1914 - 1971

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14993 PHOTOJOURNALIST

Erich Zühlsdorf

1917 - 1988

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15004 JOCKEY

Gerhard Streit

1914 - 1977

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15024 WRITER

Cornelius Kornfeld

Born 1918

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15038 POLITICIAN

Werner Rosenberg (Politiker)

Born 1914

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15044 LAWYER

Heinz Henze

1912 - 2009

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15062 LAWYER

Martin Bruneß

1911 - 1996

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15069 JOURNALIST

Heinz Riek

1918 - 2006

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15082 PILOTO

Heinz Graber

1912 - 1943

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15085 SOLDIER

Karl-Heinz Frischke

1912 - 1945

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15092 WIDERSTAND

Kurt Klinke

1910 - 1944

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15095 SOLDIER

Heinz Goldbeck

1914 - 1945

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15096 SOLDIER

Klaus Fischer (Oberleutnant zur See)

1919 - 1944

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15100 SOLDIER

Friedrich Deetz

1916 - 1944

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15111 SOLDIER

Claus-Peter Carlsen

Born 1919

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15114 POLITICIAN

Rudi Pietschker

1917 - 1999

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15120 POLITICIAN

Willi Heinze

1910 - 1945

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15122 PAINTER

Bodo Francke

1918 - 1977

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15131 OFFICER

Paul Buntrock

1915 - 1985

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15132 POLITICIAN

Charlotte Bergemann

1915 - 2002

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15141 JOURNALIST

Walter Graul

1913 - 1992

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15143 OFFICER

Heinrich Weiberg

1911 - 1984

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15159 POLITICIAN

Irene Heller

1913 - 1986

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15184 GEWERKSCHAFT

Heinz Meier (Gewerkschafter)

1913 - 1991

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15192 POLITICIAN

Emmi Czarnetzki

1911 - 1985

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15211 POLITICIAN

Siegfried Loose

1915 - 1996

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15212 ACADEMIC

Wolfgang Haendly

1911 - 1996

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15213 ART HISTORIAN

Walther Reichel

1914 - 1945

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15260 POLITICIAN

Bernhard Hoffmann (Politiker, 1919)

1919 - 2017

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15276 BOTSCHAFTER

Federico Quintana Achával

1910 - 2000

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15285 GENEALOGIST

Johann Georg von Rappard

1915 - 2006

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15321 POLITISCH

Rudolf Weinmann

1915 - 2004

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15328 POLITICIAN

Walter Milschewsky

1911 - 1996

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15331 ART HISTORIAN

Klaus Werner Schede

1914 - 1939

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15339 POLITICIAN

Fritz Panhorst

1915 - 1971

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15344 CHOREOGRAPHER

Vera Mahlke

1913 - 1982

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15350 POLITICIAN

Gertrud Müller (Politikerin, 1911)

1911 - 1992

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15398 POLITICIAN

Hildegard Marx

1912 - 1992

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15407 PLAYER

Siegfried Facius

1915 - 1968

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15408 POLITICIAN

Rudolf Gunkel

1915 - 2013

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15420 FILM

William Schönland

1915 - 2011

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15462 POLITICIAN

Hans Wellmann (Politiker, 1911)

1911 - 1969

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15464 ACADEMIC

Hans Krause-Dietering

1911 - 1976

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15465 POLITICIAN

Heinz-Kurt Steinkampf

1915 - 1983

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15470 ART HISTORIAN

Karl Meirowsky

1919 - 1980

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15501 POLITICIAN

Erwin Walter

1912 - 1998

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15508 POLITICIAN

Erich Michalski

1918 - 1988

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15519 JOURNALIST

Karl Ernst Roessler

1919 - 2012

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15526 MISSING

Käthe Aettner

1915 - 2006

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15535 POLITICIAN

Walter Franke (Politiker, 1911)

1911 - 1981

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15536 POLITICIAN

Wolfgang Eckert (Politiker)

1912 - 1994

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15554 POLITICIAN

Werner Jannicke

1919 - 1995

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15557 ARTIST

Gudrun Holm

1913 - 2006

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15570 POLITICIAN

Rudi Schade

1914 - 1981

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15589 POLITICIAN

Horst Simanowski

1919 - 1994

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15590 POLITICIAN

Gerhard Schwarz (Politiker)

1919 - 1992

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15595 POLITICIAN

Helmut Sichter

1915 - 1998

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15602 POLITICIAN

Fritz Grassmann

1913 - 1969

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15612 POLITICIAN

Ernst Köppen

1918 - 1989

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15614 POLITICIAN

Rudolf Krohn (Politiker)

1917 - 1995

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15615 POLITICIAN

Edmund Sendlewski

1911 - 1978

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15619 POLITICIAN

Kurt Lötzsch

1911 - 1961

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15638 POLITICIAN

Paul Ibscher

1910 - 1983

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15645 PAINTER

Béatrice du Vinage

1911 - 1993

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15648 POLITICIAN

Werner Dromowicz

1913 - 2004

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15650 POLITICIAN

Kurt Förster (Politiker)

1913 - 2000

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15661 PAINTER

Ernst Wittin

1912 - 1979

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