Advertisement

All of The Local's Germans of the Week.

Author thumbnail
All of The Local's Germans of the Week.

Here is the archived list of every featured German of the Week.

Advertisement

National football coach Silvia Neid

Trainer Silvia Neid is determined to take the national women's football team to the final's at the world cup.

Tennis superstar Sabine Lisicki

23-year-old Sabine Lisicki was the first German woman in 14 years to make it to the Wimbledon final.

Politician Karamba Diaby

Karamba Diaby hopes to become the first black member of the Bundestag this September.

Playmobil owner Horst Brandstätter

Generations of children all over the world have one German man to thank for hours of fun - Playmobil owner Horst Brandstätter.

Singer Nena

Thirty years ago, a young woman sporting a perm and a wistful expression burst onto the music scene. This was Gabriele Susanne Kerner, or as we know her, Nena.

Supermodel Heidi Klum

Supermodel, supermum, super media mogul: Heidi Klum celebrated her 40th birthday in Los Angeles in June.

Richard Wagner

Probably the country's most revered and reviled composer, the man considered both a musical genius and an anti-Semite turned 200 this year.

Anti-violence activist Tina K.

The trial of a group of young men suspected of beating to death 20-year-old Jonny K. began in Berlin. His older sister, Tina K., has been tirelessly campaigning for a safer capital.

Neo-Nazi Beate Zschäpe

Member of a trio suspected of murdering 10 people, Zschäpe has been in the public eye constantly since her trial began in May.

Boy

You might say he is just a collection of atoms, but then, really, aren't we all? Boy is made with individual atoms moved by a German-led research team and stars in the world's smallest stop-motion film.

Mario Götze

Dubbed "The German Messi," Mario Götze is one of Germany's most promising football talents.

Mariam the bearded woman

Women with facial hair used to be relegated to carnival sideshows, but one bearded lady - 49-year-old Mariam - is fighting for her right to remain unshaven.

Berlin fashionista Ali

Ali, a fashionable 83-year-old in Berlin has gained international fame after an Australian photographer started a Tumblr blog called 'What Ali Wore' showcasing his sartorial splendor.

Journalist Jörg Armbruster

Veteran journalist Jörg Armbruster was recently shot and seriously wounded while reporting on Syria's civil war for broadcaster ARD.

Fritz Wagner - teen dumpling superstar

After shooting to internet fame by making a video of himself singing a funny song about his favourite dumplings. Wagner how has over 2.5 million views on YouTube and a recording contract.

Former DSDS singer Sarah Joelle Jahnel

After being branded a "slut" by the host of Germany's answer to "Pop Idol" and outing the show's behind-the-scenes sex antics, singer Sarah Joelle Jahnel has raised a fair few eyebrows.

Ewald Heinrich von Kleist, tried to assassinate Hitler

Ewald Heinrich von Kleist, a former German army lieutenant who took part in a failed attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler, died at the age of 90. He was the last surviving member of the "20th of July" plot.

Dieter Pfaff, treasured television actor

Dieter Pfaff, whose death drew more German media attention than that of Hugo Chavez on Wednesday, was the big-boned star of several major TV series who only gained widespread fame aged 50.

Christoph Waltz, Oscar-winning actor

Austria Unchained? The Alpine nation is proudly independent, but that's not stopping Germany from claiming a two-time Oscar winner Christoph Waltz as one of its own.

Otto Beisheim, founder of the Metro Group

Worth €3 billion, Otto Beisheim founded the Metro group which owns Saturn and Real, among others and was, until his suicide in February 2013, one of Germany's ten wealthiest men.

Anne Wizorek, creator of the #aufschrei hashtag

A national debate over sexism in Germany took a twist after women used Twitter to describe the casual discrimination they faced. Anne Wizorek, creator of the #aufschrei hashtag which soon went viral.

Kim Dotcom, founder of Megaupload video streaming site

He's a hacker, a gamer, a party animal, a legal resident of New Zealand, and a self-proclaimed defender of internet freedom. Kim Schmitz, aka Kim Dotcom, has been in and out of court rooms in Germany and across the world for cyber-crime.

David McAllister, the half Scottish state premier of Lower Saxony

McAllister, the son of a Scottish father serving with the British army in West Berlin and a German music teacher mother, he is a rising star in Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU).

Henryk Broder, provocative polemicist and author of 'Forget Auschwitz!'

Few writers have stung Germany's conscience more than Broder. The prickly polemicist has sparked controversy by dubbing journalists anti-Semites. He once called Noam Chomsky an “absolute psycho” and was even given the nod of approval by Norwegian mass-murderer Anders Breivik.

Helene Fischer, the reigning queen of Schlager music

Petite 28-year-old Fischer is currently the biggest star of Germany's schmaltzy Schlager music scene that is so popular with the country's pensioners. Her latest album sold five million copies and her tour sold 300,000 tickets.

Peer Steinbrück, SPD politician and possible contender against Merkel in the race for chancellorship

Steinbrück, a 65-year-old father-of-three from the northern German city of Hamburg, has the uphill task of stopping the world's most powerful woman – Angela Merkel from winning a third term. He heads the country's centre-left Social Democrat party.

Brothers Grimm, legendary fairytale authors

The first edition of Brothers Grimm fairytales was published 200 years, changing children's bedtime forever and gaving Walt Disney a start in movies. Since that day, Red Riding Hood, Snow White, Cinderella, Hansel and Gretel and all the other characters have taken over the world.

Alice Schwarzer, prominent feminist and founder of Emma magazine

Schwarzer, founder of Emma magazine, has often been reduced by critics to her sharp tongue and combative manner and in recent years become a controversial figure even among feminists, many of whom say her approach has become outdated.

More

Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.

Please log in to leave a comment.

See Also