The roster of famous Germans is long in most fields of endeavor. The name of Johann Gutenberg (1400?–1468?), who is generally regarded in the Western world as the inventor of movable precision-cast metal type, and therefore as the father of modern book printing, might well head the list of notable Germans. Martin Luther (1483–1546), founder of the Reformation, still exerts profound influence on German religion, society, music, and language.

The earliest major names in German literature were the poets Wolfram von Eschenbach (1170?–1220?), Gottfried von Strassburg (d.1210?), and Sebastian Brant (1457?–1521). Hans Sachs (1494–1576) wrote thousands of plays, poems, stories, and songs. Hans Jakob Christoffel von Grimmelshausen (1620?–76) created a famous picaresque novel, Simplicissimus. The flowering of German literature began with such renowned 18th-century poets and dramatists as Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock (1724–1803), Gotthold Ephraim Lessing (1729–81), Christoph Martin Wieland (1733–1813), and Johann Gottfried von Herder (1744–1803), and culminated with the greatest German poet, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832), and the greatest German dramatist, Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (1759–1805). Leaders of the Romantic movement included Jean Paul (Jean Paul Friedrich Richter, 1763–1825), August Wilhelm von Schlegel (1767–1845), Novalis (Friedrich von Hardenberg, 1772–1801), Ludwig Tieck (1773–1853), E. T. A. (Ernst Theodor Wilhelm—the A stood for Amadeus, the middle name of Mozart) Hoffmann (1776–1822), and Heinrich Wilhelm von Kleist (1777–1811). The brothers Jakob Grimm (1785–1863) and Wilhelm Grimm (1786–1859) are world-famous for their collections of folk tales and myths. Heinrich Heine (1797–1856), many of whose poems have become folksongs, is generally regarded as the greatest German poet after Goethe. Other significant poets are Friedrich Hölderlin (1770–1843), Friedrich Rückert (1788–1866), Eduard Mörike (1804–75), Stefan Georg (1868–1933), and Rainer Maria Rilke (1875–1926). Playwrights of distinction include Friedrich Hebbel (1813–63), Georg Büchner (1813–37), Georg Kaiser (1878–1945), Ernst Toller (1893–1939), and Bertolt Brecht (1898–1957). Two leading novelists of the 19th century were Gustav Freytag (1816–95) and Theodor Storm (1817–88). Germany's 20th-century novelists include Ernst Wiechert (1887–1950), Anna Seghers (Netty Reiling, 1900–1983), and Nobel Prize winners Gerhart Johann Robert Hauptmann (1862–1946), Thomas Mann (1875–1955), Nelly Sachs (1891–1970), and Heinrich Böll (1917–86). Other major writers of the 20th century include German-born Erich Maria Remarque (1898–1970), Günter Grass (b.1927) who won a Nobel Prize for literature in 1999, and Peter Handke (b.1942).

Leading filmmakers include G. W. (Georg Wilhelm) Pabst (b. Czechoslovakia, 1885–1967), F. W. (Friedrich Wilhelm Plumpe) Murnau (1888–1931), Fritz Lang (b.Austria, 1890–1976), German-born Ernst Lubitsch (1892–1947), Max Ophüls (Oppenheimer, 1902–57), Leni (Helene Bertha Amalie) Riefenstahl (b.1902), Volker Schlöndorff (b.1939), Werner Herzog (b.1942), and Rainer Werner Fassbinder (1946–82). Outstanding performers include Emil Jannings (Theodor Friedrich Emil Janenz, b.Switzerland, 1886–1950), Marlene Dietrich (1901–1992), Klaus Kinski (Claus Günther Nakszynski, 1926–91).

The two giants of German church music were Heinrich Schütz (1585–1672) and, preeminently, Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750). Significant composers of the 18th century were German-born Georg Friedrich Handel (1685–1759), Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (1714–88), and Christoph Willibald von Gluck (1714–87). The classical period and music in general were dominated by the titanic figure of Ludwig von Beethoven (1770–1827). Romanticism in music was ushered in by Carl Maria von Weber (1786–1826), among others. Outstanding composers of the 19th century were Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy (1809–47), Robert Schumann (1810–56), Richard Wagner (1813–83), and Johannes Brahms (1833–97). Major figures of the 20th century are Richard Strauss (1864–1949), Paul Hindemith (1895–1963), Carl Orff (1895–1982), German-born Kurt Weill (1900–50), Hans Werner Henze (b.1926), and Karlheinz Stockhausen (b.1928). Important symphonic conductors included Otto Klemperer (1885–1973), Wilhelm Furtwängler (1886–1954), Karl Böhm (1894–1981), and Eugen Jochum (1902–87). Among Germany's outstanding musical performers are singers Elisabeth Schwarzkopf (b.1915) and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (b.1925), and pianists Walter Gieseking (1895–1956) and Wilhelm Kempff (1895–91).

Veit Stoss (1440?–1533) was one of the greatest German sculptors and woodcarvers of the 15th century; another was Tilman Riemenschneider (1460?–1531). Outstanding painters, engravers, and makers of woodcuts were Martin Schongauer (1445?–91), Matthias Grünewald (1460?–1528?), Hans Holbein the Elder (1465?–1524), Lucas Cranach (1472–1553), Hans Holbein the Younger (1497?–1543), and above all, Albrecht Dürer (1471–1528). More recent artists of renown are the painters Emil Nolde (1867–1956), Franz Marc (1880–1916), Max Beckmann (1884–1950), the US-born Lyonel Feininger (1871–1956), Otto Dix (1891–1969), and Horst Antes (b.1936); the painter and cartoonist George Grosz (1893–1959); the sculptors Ernst Barlach (1870–1938) and Wilhelm Lehmbruck (1881–1919); the painter-etcher-sculptor Käthe Kollwitz (1867–1945); and the architects Walter Gropius (1883–1969), leader of the Bauhaus School of Design, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (1886–1969), Erich Mendelsohn (1887–1953), Gottfried Böhm(b.1920), and Helmut Jahn (b.1940).

Scholars and Leaders

 

German influence on Western thought can be traced back at least as far as the 13th century, to the great scholastic philosopher, naturalist, and theologian Albertus Magnus (Albert von Bollstädt, d.1280) and the mystic philosopher Meister Eckhart (1260?–1327?). Philipp Melanchthon (Schwartzerd, 1497–1560) was a scholar and religious reformer. Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz (1646–1716) was an outstanding philosopher, theologian, mathematician, and natural scientist. The next two centuries were dominated by the ideas of Immanuel Kant (1724–1804), Moses Mendelssohn (1729–86), Johann Gottlieb Fichte (1762–1814), Friedrich Ernst Daniel Schleiermacher (1768–1834), Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770–1831), Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph von Schelling (1775–1854), Arthur Schopenhauer (1788–1860), Ludwig Andreas Feuerbach (1804–72), Karl Marx (1818–83), Friedrich Engels (1820–95), and Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (1844–1900). In the 20th century, Oswald Spengler (1880–1936), Karl Jaspers (1883–1969), and Martin Heidegger (1889–1976) are highly regarded. One of the founders of modern Biblical scholarship was Julius Wellhausen (1844–1918).

Among the most famous German scientists are Johann Rudolf Glauber (1694–1768), Justus von Liebig (1803–73), Robert Wilhelm Bunsen (1811–99), and Nobel Prize winners Fritz Haber (1868–1934), Carl Bosch (1874–1940), Otto Hahn (1879–1968), Friedrich Bergius (1884–1949), Georg Wittig (1897–1987), Kurt Alder (1902–58), and Ernst Otto Fischer (b.1918) in chemistry; Karl Friedrich Gauss (1777–1855), Georg Simon Ohm (1787–1854), Hermann Ludwig Ferdinand von Helmholtz (1821–94), Heinrich Rudolf Hertz (1857–1894), and Nobel Prize winners Wilhelm Konrad Röntgen (1845–1923), Max Karl Ernst Ludwig Planck (1858–1947), Albert Einstein (1879–1955), Gustav Ludwig Hertz (1887–1975), Werner Heisenberg (1901–76), Walter Bothe (1891–1957), Carl-Friedrich von Weizsäcker(b.1912), and Rudolf Mössbauer (b.1929) in physics; Rudolf Virchow (1821–1902), August von Wassermann (1866–1925), and Nobel Prize winners Robert Koch (1843–1910), Paul Ehrlich (1854–1915), Emil von Behring (1854–1917), Otto H. Warburg (1883–1970), and Konrad Lorenz (Austria, 1903–89) in physiology and medicine; earth scientists Alexander von Humboldt (1769–1859) and Karl Ernst Richter (1795–1863); and mathematician Georg Friedrich Bernhard Riemann (1826–66). Notable among German inventors and engineers are Gabriel Daniel Fahrenheit (1686–1736), developer of the thermometer; Gottlieb Daimler (1834–1900), Rudolf Diesel (b.Paris, 1858–1913), and Felix Wankel (1902–88), developers of the internal combustion engine; airship builder Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin (1838–1917); and rocketry pioneer Wernher von Braun (1912–77). Leading social scientists, in addition to Marx and Engels, were the historians Leopold von Ranke (1795–1886) and Theodor Mommsen (1817–1903), Nobel Prize winner in literature; the political economist Georg Friedrich List (1789–1846); the sociologists Georg Simmel (1858–1918) and Max Weber (1864–1920); and the German-born anthropologist Franz Boas (1858–1942). Johann Joachim Winckelmann (1717–68) founded the scientific study of classical art and archaeology. Heinrich Schliemann (1822–90) uncovered the remains of ancient Troy, Mycenae, and Tiryns; Wilhelm Dörpfeld (1853–1940) continued his work.

Outstanding figures in German political history are the Holy Roman emperors Otto I (the Great, 912–973), Frederick I (Barbarossa, 1123–90), Frederick II (1194–1250), and Spanish-born Charles V (1500–58); Frederick William (1620–88), the "great elector" of Brandenburg; his great-grandson Frederick II (the Great, 1712–86), regarded as the most brilliant soldier and statesman of his age; Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck (1815–98), the Prussian statesman who made German unity possible; Austrian-born Adolf Hitler (1889–1945), founder of Nazism and dictator of Germany (1933–45); and Konrad Adenauer (1876–1967), FRG chancellor (1948–63). Walter Ernst Karl Ulbricht (1893–1973), chairman of the Council of State (1960–73), and leader of the SED from 1950 to 1971, was the dominant political figure in the GDR until his death in 1973. Erich Honecker (1912–94) became first secretary of the SED in 1971 and was chairman of the Council of State and SED general secretary from 1976 until the FRG and GDR merged in 1990. Willi Stoph (1914–1999), a member of the Politburo since 1953, served as chairman of the Council of Ministers in 1964–73 and again from 1976 on. Willy Brandt (1913–1992), FRG chancellor (1969–74) won the Nobel Peace Prize for his policy of Ostpolitik. Other Nobel Peace Prize winners were Ludwig Quidde (1858–1941), Gustav Stresemann (1878–1929), and Carl von Ossietzky (1889–1938).

Baron Friedrich Wilhelm Ludolf Gerhard Augustin von Steuben (1730–94) was a general in the American Revolution. Karl von Clausewitz (1780–1831) is one of the great names connected with the science of war. Important military leaders were Hellmuth von Moltke (1800–1891); Gen. Paul von Hindenburg (1847–1934), who also served as president of the German Reich (1925–34); and Gen. Erwin Rommel (1891–1944).

Since reunification, postal services have been under the jurisdiction of the Deutsche Bundespost Postdienst and telecommunications under Deutsche Bundespost Telekom. Intensive capital investments since reunification have rapidly modernized and integrated most of the obsolete telephone network of the former GDR. In 2001, Germany had nearly 60 million main line telephones and 55 million mobile cellular phones. There were 11 regional broadcasting corporations, including Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen, which operates Channel Two nationally. In 1999 there were 77 AM, 1,621 FM, and 373 television stations. In 2000, Germany had 948 radios and 586 television sets for every 1,000 people. In 2001, there were about 336 personal computers for every 1,000 people and 200 Internet service providers serving 28.6 million users.

There are hundreds of newspapers, both daily and weekly, as well as a large number of periodicals. The German Press Agency, owned by German newspaper publishers and publishers' organizations, furnishes domestic and international news. There are hundreds of small press agencies and services.

Of the newspapers sold on the street, the Bildzeitung has the largest circulation (4.5 million a day as of 1995). The largest subscription paper is the Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung (621,000). Other influential daily national newspapers (with 2002 circulation rates) are: the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (Frankfurt, 471,000); the Express (Cologne, 468,800); the Sachsische Zeitung (Dresden, 416,800); Rheinische Post (Duesseldorf, 443,100); Bild (Hamburg, 5.7 million); and Suddeutsche Zeitung (Munich, 470,200). Major weeklies (with 1995 circulation) include Die Zeit (493,000), Rheinischer Merkur (111,150), and Deutsches Allgemeines Sonntagsblatt (89,200). Over 20,000 periodicals are published in Germany. The best-known internationally is the news magazine Der Spiegel (1,057,000), which is modeled after the American Time magazine.

The Basic Law provides for free press rights, and the government mostly supports these rights in practice, though propaganda of Nazi and certain other proscribed groups is illegal, as are statements endorsing Nazism.

The Federation of German Industries, the Confederation of German Employers' Associations, the Federation of German Wholesale and Foreign Traders, and the Association of German Chambers of Commerce represent business in the FRG. There are about 14 regional associations of chambers of business and industry located in the largest cities; many maintain branch offices in smaller cities. The chambers are organized into provincial associations and are headed by the Permanent Conference of German Industry and Trade. The cooperative movement is well developed. Consumer cooperatives are represented in the International Cooperative Alliance by the Central Association of German Cooperatives, founded in 1949; it also represents credit cooperatives. The central association of agricultural cooperatives, the German Raiffeisen Society, is located in Wiesbaden. The Association of German Peasants is the largest society of farmers. There is also a Central Association of German Artisan Industries. The private Association of Consumers operates more than 150 local advisory centers. Professional societies and associations are numerous.

Civil action groups (Bürgerinitiativen) have proliferated in recent years. Deutscher Frauenring serves as an umbrella organization for national women's groups. The Red Cross is active.There are about 80 youth associations, most of which belong to the Federal Youth Ring. The scouting movement is highly active and political parties sponsor groups associated in the Ring of Political Youth. There are thousands of groups and associations for various hobbies, and sports, as well as for patriotic and religious purposes.

Nearly 2.8 million of the country's 12 million dwellings were destroyed or made uninhabitable as a result of World War II. In the early 1950s, there were 10 million dwellings available for 17 million households. From 1949 to 1972, 12.8 million housing units were built, a construction rate of over 500,000 a year; since then, new construction has slowed, averaging 357,000 new units annually during 1980–85.

According to 1998 statistics, there were about 36,547,800 dedicated residential buildings, 273,600 homes, and 502,500 other buildings with housing space. About 2,121,900 dwellings had been built since 1994. The average household had 2.2 persons. About 40.5% of dwellings were owner occupied. In 2001, there was a total of about 38,681,800 dwelling units with about 4.4 rooms per dwelling. In 2002, 259,885 new dwellings were built.

In western Germany, each individual has about 36 square meters of living space, significantly more than is found in the eastern states. About 95% of all flats have a bath and 75% have central heating. The housing stock in the new federated states is older than that in the west; two-thirds of its houses were built before World War II, and many have deteriorated and lack modern sanitary facilities.

Most German schools are state run. Schools and kindergartens are the responsibility of the states, not of the federal government. Therefore, though the overall structure is basically the same, it is difficult for a pupil to transfer from one school to another. Attendance at all public schools and universities is free. As of 1999, public expenditure on education was estimated at 4.6% of GDP.

German teachers are civil servants. They are required to have a teaching degree and are paid according to a uniform salary scale. Children start school after their sixth birthday and are required to attend on a full-time basis for nine or ten years, depending on the state of residence. Part-time enrollment is then permitted.

After four years of primary or elementary school (Grundschule), students choose from three types of secondary school. The best pupils go to a gymnasium, which prepares them for the university matriculation examination, or abitur. Next is the realschule, a middle-level school leading to technical job training and middle-management employment. The lowest type is the hauptschule, or general school.

The original East German school system has been abolished. However, a network of correspondence courses has developed, geared for those who wish to continue their studies while working. In Germany, vocational training is the rule. On-the-job training in an authorized company is combined with instruction in a vocational school. Vocational training is concluded by taking a theoretical and practical examination before a Board of the Chamber, and those who pass are given a certificate. This system of vocational training has clearly reduced youth unemployment.

In 1997 there were 3,859,490 pupils in 17,892 primary schools. Primary teachers numbered 224,517, and student-toteacher ratio stood at 17 to 1. In the same year, 8,382,335 students and 542,383 teachers were in secondary schools. The pupil-teacher ratio at the primary level was 15 to 1 in 1999. In the same year, 87% of primary-school-age children were enrolled in school, while 88% of those eligible attended secondary school. At universities and other institutes of higher education, there were 274,963 teachers and 2,131,907 students enrolled.

Germany had no national library until 1913, when the German Library (7.2 million volumes in 2002) in Leipzig brought together all literature of the German language under one roof. The library also contains 3.9 million volumes of works written in exile by German authors during the Nazi era. In 1990 a further consolidation of German libraries was completed with the establishment of the German Library in Frankfurt, which had 18 million volumes in 2002. Other prominent libraries are the Bavarian State Library in Munich (7.6 million books) and the Prussian Cultural Property State Library (10 million books) in Berlin. The Herzog-August Library in Wolfenbüttel (848,000 volumes) has archives of 12,000 handwritten medieval books. One of the most important collections of German literature is at the Central Library of German Classics in Weimar. As of 1997, Germany had 6,313 public libraries with 149 million volumes in total.

Germany has more than 4,500 state, municipal, association, private, residential, castle, palace, and church and cathedral treasures museums, which annually attract over 100 million visitors. Berlin has the Egyptian and Pergaman Museums, the Painting Gallery of Old Masters, and the National Gallery of Modern Art. The Germanic National Museum in Nürnberg has the largest collection on the history of German art and culture from antiquity to the 20th century. The German Museum in Munich is one of the most well-known natural sciences and technology museums in Europe. The Pinakothek Moderne, opened in 2003, houses a huge modern art collection in Munich. In addition, there are hundreds of smaller museums, ethnological and archaeological institutions, scientific collections, and art galleries.

The social security system of the FRG remained in place following unification with the German Democratic Republic. However, the GDR system continued to apply on an interim basis within the former GDR territory. The two systems were merged effective 2 January 1992. The social insurance system provides for sickness and maternity, workers' compensation, disability, unemployment, and old age; the program is financed by compulsory employee and employer contributions. Old age pensions begin at age 65 after five years of contribution. Worker's medical coverage is comprehensive, including dental care. Unemployment coverage includes all workers, trainees, apprentices, and at home workers in varying degrees. The government funds a family allowance to parents with one or more children.

A program entitled "Women and Occupation" continued it application in 2002. It promotes the equality of women in the work force through training, grants, and projects. There is also an initiative to increase the number of females in information technology and in media careers. Equal pay for equal work is mandated by law but women continue to earn less than men. All military jobs, including combat roles, are now available to women. Although violence against women exists, the law and government provides protection. Victims of violence can receive police protection, legal help, shelter and counseling. Children's rights are strongly protected.

Freedom of religion is guaranteed by the Basic Law in Germany, although there have been reports of some discrimination against minority religions. Extremist rightwing groups continue to commit violent acts against immigrants and Jews although the government is committed to preventing such acts. The Basic Law also provides for the freedom of association, assembly, and expression.