52.4003° N, 13.0678° E

POTSDAM

Most Famous People Born in Potsdam, Germany

Notable people
899
Peak decade
1980s
Median birth year
1911
Most distinctive
Leutnant 39.1×

The Prussian royal seat, and the numbers still march in uniform: the Leutnant bench runs at nearly forty times the German baseline, Generalmajor at thirty, and Prince at fourteen — Sanssouci and the Hohenzollern parade ground written into the demographic record. The postwar pivot is quieter but visible in the Academic and Diplomat lines, the research institutes and the Einstein Tower physics that replaced the crown.

Through the Decades

One face per decade — the most globally famous figure born in Potsdam during each.

Notable Births by Decade

Click a decade to filter the list below. Peak: 1980s with 78 notable births.

What Potsdam Is Known For

Click any row to filter the list of people below.

Actor is Potsdam's biggest profession — 11% of all notables (95).

Potsdam over-indexes on leutnant39.1× the global rate.

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

  1. Actor95
  2. Politician68
  3. Writer35
  4. Painter30
  5. Officer29
  6. Academic21
  7. Football18
  8. Architect16
  1. Leutnant1339.1×
  2. Generalmajor1630.8×
  3. Prince1114.3×
  4. Soldier95.6×
  5. Officer294.9×
  6. Rower92.7×
  7. Diplomat132.5×
  8. Botanist92.5×
  1. Football180.2×
  2. Politician680.6×
  3. Singer120.6×

Profession Mix Over Time

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

1700175018001850190019502000
  • Film & TV
  • Politics & Law
  • Science
  • Writing
  • Sports
  • Military
  • Other
Officer29
Sort By

Showing 29 of 899 notable people

0016 OFFICER

Alfred von Waldersee

1832 - 1904

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0020 OFFICER

Ludwig Yorck von Wartenburg

1759 - 1830

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0061 OFFICER

Gottlieb Graf von Haeseler

1836 - 1919

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0079 OFFICER

Bogislav Friedrich Emanuel von Tauentzien

1760 - 1824

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0091 OFFICER

Maximilian von Schwartzkoppen

1850 - 1917

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0127 OFFICER

Meinrad von Lauchert

1905 - 1987

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0224 OFFICER

Ernst-Anton von Krosigk

1898 - 1945

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0225 OFFICER

Frederick William von Kleist

1724 - 1767

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0238 OFFICER

Bernhard Franz Wilhelm von Werder

1823 - 1907

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0258 OFFICER

Alfred von Böckmann

1859 - 1921

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0275 OFFICER

Ludolf von Alvensleben (Major General)

1844 - 1912

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0349 OFFICER

Wilhelm von Brandenburg (1819–1892)

1819 - 1892

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0377 OFFICER

Karl von Brandenstein

1831 - 1886

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0475 OFFICER

Anatol Graf von Bredow

1859 - 1941

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0518 OFFICER

Peter Purzelbaum

1884 - 1957

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0539 OFFICER

Otto Victor II. von Schönburg

1882 - 1914

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0620 OFFICER

Georg-Sigismund von Oppen

1923 - 2008

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0622 OFFICER

Manfred von Plotho

1908 - 1987

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0722 OFFICER

Gustav von Arnim (General)

1829 - 1909

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0737 OFFICER

Theodor Alexander von Schoeler

1807 - 1894

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0756 OFFICER

Alfred von Kaphengst

1828 - 1887

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0774 OFFICER

Klaus von Heimendahl (General, 1933)

1933 - 2013

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0783 OFFICER

Harry Andree

1913 - 1944

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0794 OFFICER

Rudolf von Neumann-Cosel

1822 - 1888

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0795 OFFICER

Kurt Vogel (General der Volkspolizei)

1910 - 1995

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0803 OFFICER

Gustav von Arnim (Generalleutnant)

1856 - 1932

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0824 OFFICER

Hermann Otto von Schenck

1824 - 1911

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0825 OFFICER

Richard Dombrowsky

1911 - 1987

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0832 OFFICER

Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich von Decker

1744 - 1828

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