51.3402° N, 12.3749° E

LEIPZIG

Most Famous People Born in Leipzig, Germany

Notable people
3,200
Peak decade
1930s
Median birth year
1908
Most distinctive
Publisher 8.9×

For two centuries the publishing capital of the German-speaking world, and the numbers still show it. Leipzig's most distinctive profession is publisher at nearly nine times the global rate, alongside an unusually heavy bench of theologians, art historians, and academic authors — the shape of a city whose book fair, Reclam editions, and university library set what German readers read for two centuries. Bach worked at the Thomaskirche, Leibniz was born here, and Clara Schumann grew up in its salons.

Through the Centuries

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

What Leipzig Is Known For

Click any row to filter the list of people below.

Politician is Leipzig's biggest profession — 10% of all notables (334).

Leipzig over-indexes on publisher8.9× the global rate.

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

  1. Politician334
  2. Actor195
  3. Painter171
  4. Author130
  5. Academic125
  6. Writer113
  7. Historian86
  8. Football80
  1. Publisher368.9×
  2. Art Historian365.9×
  3. Theologian615.3×
  4. Author1304.7×
  5. Chemist454.0×
  6. Academic1253.9×
  7. Physicist392.9×
  8. Historian862.5×
  1. Football800.2×
  2. Singer420.6×

Profession Mix Over Time

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

1500155016001650170017501800185019001950
  • Writing
  • Science
  • Politics & Law
  • Art & Design
  • Sports
  • Film & TV
  • Other
All3,200
Sort By

Showing 213 of 3,200 notable people

0057 PAINTER

Blinky Palermo

1943 - 1977

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0068 ACTOR

Frank Schöbel

Born 1942

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0106 PIANIST

Joachim Kühn

Born 1944

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0147 POLITICIAN

Ibrahim Böhme

1944 - 1999

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0162 PASTOR

Christian Führer

1943 - 2014

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0248 ART HISTORIAN

Thomas W. Gaehtgens

Born 1940

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0281 ACTOR

Christine Wodetzky

1943 - 2004

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0295 COMPOSER

Barbara Thalheim

Born 1947

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0372 ATHLETIC

Rita Wilden

Born 1947

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0388 POLITICAL SCIENTIST

Thomas Meyer (political scientist)

Born 1943

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0393 COMPOSER

Peter Gläser

1949 - 2008

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0423 MATHEMATICIAN

Eberhard Zeidler (Mathematiker)

1940 - 2016

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0425 ACTOR

Franziska Oehme

Born 1944

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0436 ATHLETIC

Christina Heinich

Born 1949

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0451 BUSINESS

Michael Frenzel

Born 1947

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0454 MUSIC

Hans-Jürgen Beyer

Born 1949

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0466 PAINTER

Erich Kissing

Born 1943

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0471 POLITICIAN

Walter Hirche

Born 1941

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0484 PAINTER

Lutz Dammbeck

Born 1948

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0489 SKIER

Andreas Kunz

Born 1946

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0526 PHYSICIAN

Hiltrud Strasser

Born 1943

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0561 ACTOR

Hannelore Bey

Born 1941

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0629 ATHLETIC

Marion Lüttge

Born 1941

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0633 POLITICIAN

Martin Gillo

Born 1945

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0641 HANDBALL

Hannelore Zober

Born 1946

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0673 SINGER

Wolfgang Pampel

Born 1945

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0674 ACTOR

Günter Junghans

1941 - 2014

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0675 ATHLETIC

Regina Höfer

Born 1947

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0688 COXSWAIN

Michael Obst

Born 1944

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0695 PLAYER

Wolfgang Weise

Born 1949

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0707 MINISTER

Uta Nickel

Born 1941

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0729 ACTOR

Hans-Jochen Röhrig

Born 1943

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0747 PSYCHIATRIST

Volker Faust

Born 1941

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0768 SPORT

Michael Schiffner

Born 1949

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0782 SINGER

Uschi Brüning

Born 1947

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0783 FOOTBALL

Bernd Dobermann

Born 1944

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0796 MATHEMATICIAN

Rolf Rannacher

Born 1948

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0799 HANDBALL

Renate Rudolph

Born 1949

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0810 POLITICIAN

Beate Ulbricht

1944 - 1991

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0825 CHESS

Manfred Schöneberg

Born 1946

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0828 SCULPTOR

Christoph Freimann

Born 1940

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0839 MUSIC

Peter Gotthardt

Born 1941

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0849 SWIMMER

Heidi Pechstein

Born 1944

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0864 SINGER

Marty Kristian

Born 1947

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0884 HOCKEY

Rainer Makatsch

Born 1946

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0896 PHARMACOLOGIST

Michel Eichelbaum

Born 1941

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0902 MATHEMATICIAN

Gisela Engeln-Müllges

Born 1940

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0912 AUTHOR

Johannes Rogalla von Bieberstein

Born 1940

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0916 POLITICIAN

Christa Schmidt

Born 1941

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0923 ARCHITECT

Bernd Grönwald

1942 - 1991

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0939 PIANIST

Milan Šamko

1946 - 2019

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0940 FOOTBALL

Hans-Jürgen Naumann

Born 1944

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0943 SWIMMER

Martina Grunert

Born 1949

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0971 AUTHOR

Andreas Reimann

Born 1946

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0977 ACADEMIC

Ulrich Albrecht

1941 - 2016

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0993 MATHEMATICIAN

Thomas Friedrich (Mathematiker)

1949 - 2018

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1017 PHYSICIST

Thomas Görnitz

Born 1943

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1020 WRITER

Gunter Preuß

Born 1940

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1037 PSYCHOLOGIST

Klaus-Jürgen Bruder

Born 1941

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1049 PLAYER

Horst Peter

Born 1946

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1051 SKATER

Margit Senf

Born 1945

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1066 HISTORIAN

Willi Paul Adams

1940 - 2002

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1074 POLITICIAN

Marlies Mosiek-Urbahn

Born 1946

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1076 AUTHOR

Sabine Kebir

Born 1949

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1083 SINOLOGIST

Ralf Moritz

Born 1941

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1087 AUTHOR

Jürgen vom Scheidt (Schriftsteller)

Born 1940

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1090 LAWYER

Hans-Joachim Koch

Born 1944

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1119 ACTOR

Anette Felber

Born 1947

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1126 THEOLOGIAN

Klemens Richter

Born 1940

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1131 ACADEMIC

Bettina Clausen

1941 - 2018

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1154 BÜRGERRECHT

Thomas Auerbach

1947 - 2020

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1159 THEOLOGIAN

Kurt Nowak

1942 - 2001

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1177 JOURNALIST

Erik Bettermann

Born 1944

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1179 SWIMMER

Jürgen Dietze

Born 1942

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1211 AUTHOR

Bert Noglik

Born 1948

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1214 PSYCHOLOGIST

Georg Rudinger

Born 1942

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1233 ART HISTORIAN

Dieter Ronte

Born 1943

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1275 WRITER

Gunter Gerlach

Born 1941

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1280 SOLDIER

Jörgen Schmidtchen

1941 - 1962

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1298 WRITER

Hans-Henning Paetzke

Born 1943

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1307 ETHNOLOGIST

Konrad Vanja

Born 1947

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1328 HISTORIAN

Hans-Joachim Schlegel

1942 - 2016

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1343 ORGANBUILDER

Martin-Christian Schmidt

1946 - 2000

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1365 WRITER

Frank Weymann

1948 - 1997

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1373 SCULPTOR

Walther Petri

1940 - 2011

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1386 LAWYER

Rainer Goerdeler

Born 1941

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1397 SCREENWRITER

Gabriele Herzog

Born 1948

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1400 PHILOSOPHER

Claus-Artur Scheier

Born 1942

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1408 SCREENWRITER

Bernd Schirmer

Born 1940

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1415 ART HISTORIAN

Peter Findeisen

1941 - 2012

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1438 THEOLOGIAN

Matthias Petzoldt

Born 1948

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1440 SPORT

Dieter Leitner

Born 1945

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1452 DESIGNER

Lutz Grumbach

Born 1941

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1462 BIOLOGIST

Wolfgang Hennig

Born 1941

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1471 THEOLOGIAN

Claus-Peter März

Born 1947

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1488 KLOSTER

Friederike Rupprecht

Born 1940

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1527 POLITICIAN

Eberhard Walde

1949 - 2011

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1539 HISTORIAN

Hans Hecker

Born 1942

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1550 MATHEMATICIAN

Rainer Schlittgen

Born 1946

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1585 PAINTER

Wolfgang Berger (Maler)

Born 1947

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1591 HISTORIAN

Gerald Wiemers

Born 1941

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1630 PAINTER

Bettina Glas

Born 1943

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1634 HISTORIAN

Rainer Koch (Historiker)

Born 1944

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1651 ACTOR

Gert Kießling

Born 1944

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1654 PHILOLOGIST

Volker Riedel

Born 1943

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1670 SOCIOLOGIST

Beate Krais

Born 1944

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1675 PROFESSOR

Christa Heilmann

Born 1946

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1676 HISTORIAN

Bernd Rüdiger

Born 1942

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1678 ACADEMIC

Sabine Bastian

Born 1948

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1713 AUTHOR

Stefan Welzk

Born 1942

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1714 SCULPTOR

Günter Kaden

Born 1941

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1752 AUTHOR

J. Monika Walther

Born 1945

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1803 POLITICIAN

Konrad Kunick

Born 1940

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1815 PRODUCTION DESIGNER

Winfried Hennig

Born 1941

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1829 WRITER

Hans-Jörg Dost

Born 1941

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1830 ACTOR

Ilona Knobbe

Born 1948

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1848 ACADEMIC

Volker Schurig (Psychologe)

1942 - 2014

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1851 ECONOMIST

Michael Stitzel

Born 1940

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1861 DENTIST

Wolfgang Klimm

Born 1943

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1896 PUBLISHER

Henning Müller-Buscher

Born 1944

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1917 PROFESSOR

Matthias Perl

Born 1948

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1918 PHOTOGRAPHER

Andreas Birkigt

Born 1949

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2023 POLITICIAN

Gisela Böhrk

Born 1945

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2026 FOOTBALL

Peter Gießner

1941 - 2003

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2031 ART HISTORIAN

Dietmar Eisold

1947 - 2017

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2057 LAWYER

Thomas Läufer

Born 1945

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2070 ARABIST

Gerhard Hoffmann (Arabist)

Born 1941

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2081 AUTHOR

Carl D. Goerdeler

Born 1944

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2084 ADMIRAL

Gerhard Müller (Admiral)

Born 1941

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2090 FLAUTIST

Frank Michael (Komponist)

Born 1943

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2103 COMPOSER

Helga Poppe

Born 1942

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2112 ECONOMIST

Ullrich Heilemann

Born 1944

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2118 PSYCHOLOGIST

Lutz F. Hornke

Born 1945

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2131 SOZIOLOGE

Rupprecht Thorbecke

Born 1943

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2159 PRESERVATIONIST

Christiane Segers-Glocke

Born 1947

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2180 FILM

Günter Jordan

Born 1941

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2183 ACADEMIC

Thomas Börner (Genetiker)

Born 1946

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2184 CHEMIST

Stefan Berger (Chemiker)

Born 1946

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2237 WRESTLER

Jürgen Klinge

Born 1940

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2241 AUTHOR

Rüdiger Pfromm

Born 1943

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2278 AUTHOR

Stefan Tomas

Born 1943

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2280 PARSON

Rolf-Michael Turek

Born 1949

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2364 POLITICIAN

Siegfried Friese

Born 1943

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2407 JUDGE

Peter Schmidt (Jurist)

Born 1943

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2439 ART HISTORIAN

Volker Herzner

Born 1940

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2443 LAWYER

Arndt Müller

Born 1942

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2465 ACADEMIC

Heidrun Laudel

1941 - 2014

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2478 PAINTER

Jürgen Schäfer (Maler)

Born 1941

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2479 PAINTER

Michael Emig

Born 1948

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2484 AUTHOR

Wolfram Martin

Born 1945

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2528 CANOE

Jürgen Köhler

Born 1946

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2535 PAINTER

Jürgen Gerhard

Born 1947

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2543 THEATRE

Manfred Dietrich

Born 1943

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2579 WRITER

Jutta Pillat

Born 1943

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2580 SINGER

Christiane Ufholz

Born 1947

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2583 FOOTBALL

Ralf Heine

Born 1944

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2608 ACTOR

Chris Palm

Born 1942

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2612 POLITICIAN

Uwe Greve

1940 - 2005

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2665 ACTOR

Barbara Witow

Born 1944

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2682 PRESERVATIONIST

Karl-Reinhard Seehausen

Born 1943

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2695 FOOTBALL

Eberhard Köditz

1946 - 2019

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2708 POLITICIAN

Bernhard Bender

Born 1945

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2714 PAINTER

Peter Schnürpel

Born 1941

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2748 FOOTBALL

Hans-Georg Sannert

Born 1941

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2757 MANAGER

Heiko Thieme

Born 1943

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2793 GRAFIKER

Petra Gabriele Dannehl

1948 - 2020

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2795 LIBRARIAN

Irmgard Spencker

1941 - 2017

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2796 LAWYER

Jörg Schwalm

Born 1942

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2800 ROWER

Claus Wilke

Born 1941

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2815 THEATRE

Ekkehard Dennewitz

Born 1945

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2843 DIPLOMAT

Gerhard Launicke

Born 1941

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2854 POLITICIAN

Frank Schmidt (Politiker, 1943)

Born 1943

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2871 POLITICIAN

Georg Nolte (Politiker)

1942 - 2016

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2873 SPORT

Erhard Hancke

Born 1941

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2878 FOOTBALL

Manfred Richter (Fußballspieler)

1941 - 1995

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2879 POLITICIAN

Hinrich Feddersen

Born 1944

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2885 TRANSLATOR

Eberhard Wesemann

Born 1944

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2899 SPORT

Wolfgang Schoppe

Born 1941

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2911 DIPLOMAT

Hans-Dietrich von Bothmer

Born 1941

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2912 OPERA

Hans-Joachim Beyer

Born 1940

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2918 SWIMMER

Harriet Blank

Born 1944

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2928 SPORT

Uto Wunderlich

Born 1946

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2936 DIPLOMAT

Volker Schlegel

Born 1942

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2938 MANAGER

Stefan Jütte

Born 1946

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2942 POLITICIAN

Jutta Schmidt

Born 1943

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2945 POLITICIAN

Bernd Brösdorf

Born 1949

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2972 POLITICIAN

Christina Emmrich

Born 1948

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2976 POLITICIAN

Dagmar Künast

Born 1947

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2977 COMPOSER

Eric Thomas (Sänger)

Born 1946

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2978 POLITICIAN

Gerhard Schulz (Politiker)

Born 1948

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2981 JUDGE

Christel Alber

Born 1941

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2984 POLITICIAN

Jürgen Schön (Politiker)

Born 1948

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2987 POLITICIAN

Matthias Weisheit

1945 - 2004

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2992 HANDBALL

Karlheinz Rost

Born 1945

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3007 POLITICIAN

Rainer Maedge

Born 1944

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3008 MISSING

Wolfgang Zill

1941 - 1969

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3010 POLITICIAN

Roland Becker

Born 1940

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3013 POLITICIAN

Joachim Dirschka

Born 1941

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3022 POLITICIAN

Horst Engel (Politiker, 1947)

Born 1947

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3033 BADMINTON

Frank Geißler

Born 1940

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3036 DIPLOMAT

Volker Fink

Born 1943

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3070 BADMINTON

Gerd Hachmeister

Born 1942

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3076 POLITICIAN

Bernd Scheffler

Born 1947

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3089 BADMINTON

Bernd Hachmeister

Born 1941

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3092 THEATRE

Hermann Schein

Born 1946

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3097 POLITICIAN

Martina Schönebeck

Born 1948

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3099 PALAEONTOLOGIST

Detlef Walde

Born 1945

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3105 POLITICIAN

Elke Plöger

Born 1944

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3111 POLITICIAN

Karla Staszak

Born 1941

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3153 PAINTER

Jürgen Parche

1946 - 2010

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3168 POLITICIAN

Dietmar Werner (Politiker)

Born 1941

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3176 POLITICIAN

Lutz Thormann (Politiker)

1940 - 1992

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3187 POLITICIAN

Peter Enders (Politiker, 1942)

Born 1942

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