history - Key Political Figures

Adenauer, Konrad (1.5.1876 – 4.19.1967) – first chancellor of West Germany (1949-63), whose program of reconstruction, European integration and reunification shaped the political course of FRG. Largely associated with the Wirtschaftswunder (“economic miracle”) of the 1950s. Responsible for the rearming of West Germany and leading the way towards a social market economy.

Bismarck, Otto von (4.1.1815 – 7.30.1898) – first chancellor of united Germany (1871) after defeat of France. Contested Vatican’s push for power in Kulturkampf (literally, “Culture Struggle”). Tried to prevent social unrest from “socialists” via Sozialistengesetz ("Anti-Socialist Law," 1875-90). Mandated accident and health insurance for working class. Proclaimed Germany’s intention not to expand the Reich.

Bleichröder, Gerson (12.22.1822 – 2.18.1893) – wealthy Berlin banker and financial emissary for Otto von Bismarck. Helped organize the financing of the war between Prussia and Austria.

Bode, Wilhelm von (12.10.1845 – 3.1.1929) – art historian, general director of the Berlin art collection(s) and co-founder of modern museum concept. Founded the Kaiser-Friedrich-Museum on Museum Island in Berlin-Mitte (1904, now Bode-Museum), and initiated building of Dahlem and Pergamon museums in Berlin.

Borsig, August Julius (6.23.1804 – 7.6.1854 or 1829-1878) – industrialist whose steam engine and steam-powered locomotive factories and ironworks in Berlin-Moabit contributed to Prussia’s industrialization.

Böß, Gustav (4.11.1873 – 2.6.1946) – Mayor of Berlin during the Weimar Republic (1921-29). Built many sports facilities, parks, the Berlin Messe (“Exposition”), Tempelhof airport, remodeled the Deutsches Opernhaus (“German Opera House”) and instituted a concert series for the promotion of art at city hall (Rathauskonzerte).

Brandt, Willy (12.18.1913 – 10.8.1992) – Social Democrat (SPD) Mayor of Berlin (1957-66), Foreign Minister and Vice Chancellor (1966-69) and Chancellor (1969-74) of FRG. Won the Nobel Peace Prize (1971) for his Ostpolitik. Skillful handling of the Berlin-Krise (“crisis”) of 1958 and the building of the Berlin Wall helped defuse East-West tensions and made him a popular public figure.

Clay, Lucius (4.23.1897 – 4.16.1978) – Commander-in-Chief of U.S. military forces in Europe and military governor of American occupation zone in Germany (1947-49). Orchestrated the Luftbrücke (“Berlin Airlift” of 1948-49). Rejected Morgenthau Plan and supported economic reconstruction (Marshall Plan). Honorary doctorate from Freie Universität Berlin and honorary citizen of West Berlin (1953). Clayallee, a West Berlin street, and U.S. Army Berlin headquarters named after him.

Diepgen, Eberhard (11.13.1941) – CDU member and Mayor of Berlin (1984-89, 1991-2001).

Dietrich, Marlene (12.27.1901 – 5.6.1992) – sultry singer, actress, sex-icon and first German to become a Hollywood star. Born in Berlin-Schöneberg. First big role as Lola in Der blaue Engel (“The Blue Angel,” 1929), which produced a worldwide hit song. Emigrated to USA (1930; became citizen 1939) where she starred in several hits (“Shanghai Express,” “Destry Rides Again,” and “Morocco”) and had hit song, “Lili Marleen.” Worked for the US Armed Forces during WW II and criticized by many Berliners as a Vaterlandsverräterin (“traitor”) even after her death. Buried in Städtischen Friedhof Schöneberg III. in Berlin. Street and square (Marlene-Dietrich-Platz) in Berlin named after her.

Ebert, Friedrich (2.4.1871 – 2.28.1925) – chair of the SPD (1913-1919) and became first president of the Weimar Republic (2.11.1919). Named to leadership of the Januarstreiks (“January Strikes”), which he quickly ended and earned the label traitor. His faked support for November Revolution (1918) to gain access and prevent all-out revolution and end the workers’ strikes was revealed during a trial known as the Dolchstoßprozess (“Backstabbing Trial”).

Einstein, Albert (3.14.1879 – 4.18.1955) – German-born Swiss/American physicist best known for his theories of Special and General Relativity. Named to Preussische Akademie der Wissenschaften (“Prussian Academy of Sciences”), became professor at Humboldt University and Director of the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Instituts für Physik in Berlin (1914-1932). Won Nobel Prize for Physics in 1921 for his formula: E=MC². Lived near Potsdam before emigrating to the USA (1932/33). Politically engaged and outspoken.

Erhardt, Ludwig (2.4.1897 – 5.5.1977) – Konrad Adenauer’s first Minister of Economics (1949-) as well as later Chancellor of the FRG (1963-66). Considered the architect of the Wirtschaftswunder (“Economic Miracle”) of West Germany for his social market economy policies.

Furtwängler, Wilhelm (1.25.1886 – 11.30.1954) – Composer and conductor. Understood symphonic music as a product of nature. Conducted Berlin Staatskapelle (1920) and Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra (1922). Criticized Nazis and resigned from Berlin Opera (1934) in protest. Helped Jewish musicians escape during Third Reich. Music director of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, the Salzburg Festival and the Bayreuth Festival. Best known piece, Symphonie No.2 in E Minor (1945), premiered by the Berlin Philharmonic in 1948. Considered one of greatest conductors ever.

Gauck, Joachim (1.24.1940) – Priest and co-founder of Neues Forum (“New Forum”). Charged with investigating the Stasi files/archives (1989-2000). Chairman of Gegen Vergessen – für Demokratie (“Against Forgetting – For Democracy”).

Goebbels, Joseph (10.29.1897 – 5.1.1945) – Minister for Popular Enlightenment and Propaganda (1933-45). Organized the book burning of 1933 at Bebelplatz in Berlin-Mitte and Reichskristallnacht (“Night of Broken Glass”), the infamous anti-Jewish pogrom of November 9-10, 1938. In famous speech at the Berlin Sportspalast (2.1943), called for “total war”: total mobilization of the populace. Committed suicide after Hitler in the Führerbunker.

Gorbachev, Mikhail (3.2.1931) – Head of State and General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (1985-91). Won Nobel Peace Prize (1990) for programs of glastnost (policy of openness and transparency) and perestroika ([economic] restructuring). Abandoned the Brezhnev Doctrine in 1988, setting a foreign policy of non-intervention in the affairs of the Warsaw Pact states (including East Germany as the Berlin Wall fell), which resulted in the collapse of Communism and the USSR. Won Point Alpha Prize (2005) for supporting German reunification.

Göring, Hermann (1.12.1893 – 10.15.1946) – Reichsluftfahrtminister and Generalfeldmarschall (head of the Air Force, 1935-40) and Reichsmarschall (head of all armed forces, 1940-45). In charge of Prussian state theaters, which caused feud with Goebbels because of greater prestige of Prussian theaters over those he oversaw. Göring supported and appreciated theater.

Gründgens, Gustaf (12.22.1899 – 10.7.1963) – one of Germany’s most famous actors and bisexual. Directed at Deutsches Theater in Berlin (1928). Directed the Preußischen Staatstheater (Staatliches Spielhaus) in Berlin (1934-45). Key role as Mephistopheles in Goethes Faust. Starred in M – Eine Stadt sucht einen Mörder (1931). Directed films at Terra (part of UFA; 1938-45) including Zwei Welten (1939) and Friedemann Bach (1941). Also directed propaganda films.

Hindenburg, Paul von (10.2.1847 – 8.2.1934) – Chief of the General Staff of German armed forces (1916-19) and President of Germany (1925-32). First usage of Dolchstoßlegende (“stab-in-the-back legend”) by him during testimony (1918) about German defeat in WWI. Appointed Hitler Chancellor in January 1933. Dissolved the Reichstag and signed the Enabling Act, effectively giving Hitler total power.

Hirschfeld, Magnus (5.14.1868 – 5.14.1935) – Physician and sexologist who researched homosexuality and was proponent of decriminalizing homosexuality and abortion in Germany. Founded First Congress for Sexual Reform (1921). Directed the Institute for Sexual Research in Berlin (1919-). Co-wrote and acted in Anders als die Andern (1919), a film about gay rights. Nicknamed “Einstein of sex.” Coined word “transvestism.”

Hitler, Adolf (4.20.1889 – 4.30.1945) – Head of the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterspartei (“National Socialist German Workers Party,” or Nazi Party). Appointed Chancellor in 1933. Führer (combination of Offices of Presidency and Chancellorship) of the Third Reich (1934-45) through Enabling Act, giving him dictatorial powers. Pursued creation of the Thousand-Year Reich of Germania. His racial ideology was a virulent anti-semitism whose end goal was the total annihilation of all Jews.

Isherwood, Christopher (8.26.1904 – 1.4.1986) – Author born in Cheshire, England. Language teacher in Berlin 1929-1933. Wrote about the sexual underworld of and his experiences in Berlin. Wrote Goodbye to Berlin and Mr. Norris Changes Trains.

Kohl, Helmut (4.3.1930) – Chancellor of (West) Germany (1982-98). Architect of German reunification. With French President Mitterrand enacted the Maastricht Treaty establishing the European Union (1992/93). Bitburg Affair (1985) during President Regan’s visit for 40th anniversary of V-E Day. Hosted Erich Honecker – first East German head of state visit to West Germany – in 1987.

Kollwitz, Käthe (7.8.1867 – 4.22.1945) – Sculptor, painter and printmaker. Naturalistic and expressionistic depictions of victims of poverty, war and hunger. Her doctor husband cared for poor in Berlin. Created a memorial “sheet” for Karl Liebknecht. First woman elected to Prussian Academy of Arts (1920). An enlarged reproduction of her Pietà (1937) stands in the Neue Wache in Berlin-Mitte, which serves as a monument to the “Victims of War and Tyranny.” Square in Berlin named after her.

Khrushchev, Nikita (4.17.1894 – 9.11.1971) – First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union after Stalin (1953-64) and Soviet Premier (1958-64). Established Warsaw Pact (1955). Approved Walter Ulbricht’s plans for the Berlin Wall (1961) after Western disapproval of turning all of Berlin into a neutral city. Faced off against U.S. President Kennedy in the Cuban Missile Crisis (October 1962).

Liebknecht, Karl (8.13.1871 – 1.15.1919) – co-founder of communist Spartakusbund (“Spartacist League,” 1914) and member of Communist Party of Germany (KPD, 1919). Declared the formation of a free socialist republic from a balcony of the Berliner Stadtschloss, two hours after Philipp Scheidemann's declaration of the Weimar Republic (11.9.1918). Participated in January Revolution in Berlin (1919), was captured, tortured at the Eden Hotel and murdered in an effort to quash the revolt. Street off of Alexanderplatz in Berlin named after him.

Luxemburg, Rosa (3.5.1870 – 1.15.1919) – co-founder of the communist Spartakusbund (“Spartacist League”) and member of Communist Party of Germany (KPD). Participated in January Revolution in Berlin (1919), during which she was captured by the Freikorps under orders of Friedrich Ebert and murdered in an effort to quash the revolt. Square in Prenzlauerberg in Berlin named after her.

Merkel, Angela (7.17.1954) – first female Chancellor of Germany (2005-) and Chairwoman of the CDU. Minister for Women and Youth under Helmut Kohl, and later Minister for the Environment and Reactor Safety (1994). Holds Doctorate in Physics/ Chemistry. Supporter of market economy and strives for German ability to compete economically.

Mielke, Erich (12.28.1907 – 5.21.2000) – General and second Minister of State Security or “Stasi” in the GDR (1957-89). Greatly feared and known for brutal treatment of prisoners and enemies of the state. Sentenced to prison for political murders in 1931 after the fall of the Wall. Buried in an unmarked grave in Zentralfriedhof Friedrichsfelde in Berlin.

Momper, Walter (2.21.1945) – Mayor of Berlin during fall of the Berlin Wall and German reunification (1989-91). Member of SPD and President of the Berlin Parliament since 2001.

Rathenau, Walther (9.29.1967 – 6.24.1922) – Industrialist and Foreign Minister in the Weimar Republic who encouraged Jewish assimilation, and who was assassinated by right-wing extremists, owing largely to his stance on fulfilling obligations under the Treaty of Versailles and for signing the Treaty of Rapallo, which dissolved mutual land claims between Russia and Germany.

Reuter, Ernst (7.29.1889 – 9.29.1953) – Mayor of West Berlin (1948-53). Also founder of the Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe or BVG (“Berlin Transit Authority,” 1926). Gave famous speech in front of Reichstag building (9.9.1948) calling for world not to abandon Berlin. Freie Universität-Berlin built and opened under his administration. State funeral attended by over one million; buried in Berlin-Dahlem. Several buildings, streets, a subway station and a square in Berlin are named after him.

Scheidemann, Philip (7.26.1865 – 11.29.1939) – Member of Deutsche Demokratische Partei (“German Democratic Party”) and first chancellor of the Weimar Republic (1919) after proclaiming the birth of the “Republic” in November 1918 from a Reichstag balcony. Served in the provisional government. Became Mayor of Kassel (1920-25), thereafter serving in Reichstag. Self-exile from 1933 till his death.

Schröder, Gerhard (4.7.1944) – Minister President of Nieder Sachsen (“Lower Saxony,” 1990-98), SPD Chairman (1999-2004) and German chancellor (1998-2005). Criticized for Agenda 2010 program for making cuts in the welfare system. Committed troops to Kosovo and Afghanistan marking first use of German troops in combat since WWII. Keeps apartment and office in Berlin while maintaining permanent residence in Hannover.

Stresemann, Gustav (5.10.1878 – 10.3.1929) – Co-won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1926 with Aristide Briand for achieving reconciliation between France and Germany. Founded the Deutsche Volkspartei (“German People’s Party”). Named Chancellor (8.13.1923 – 11.23.1923) and Foreign Minister (1923-29) during the Ruhrkrise (“Ruhr Crisis”). Managed to push through Dawes Plan (1924), Rhineland Pact (1925) Young Plan (1929) which reduced German WWI reparations and fostered improved foreign relations.

Strousberg, Bethel Henry (11.20.1823 – 5.31.1884) – Railway entrepeneur in Berlin. Built the Palais Strousberg on Wilhemstraße in Berlin, where the British Embassy is now. Constructed railway network throughout Prussia and in parts of Europe.

Ulbricht, Walter (6.30.1893 – 8.1.1973) – Chairman of the Kommunistische Partei Deutschlands (“Communist Party of Germany,” 1929-33) in Berlin. First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands (“Socialist Unity Party of Germany”; 1950-71). Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers and, in 1960, became Chairman and Head of State for the GDR. Known as a staunch Stalinist.

Wilhelm I (3.22.1797 – 3.9.1888) – served in Napoleonic Wars, crushed a rebellion during the 1848 Revolution and became King of Prussia on 1.2.1861. Appointed Otto von Bismarck as Prime Minister. Crowned Kaiser (“Emperor”) over the new German Reich after the Prussian victory over France in 1870/71 (on 1.18.1871). Assassination attempts in 1878 prompted his Anti-Socialist law, outlawing the SPD and workers’ and socialists’ organizations.

Wilhelm II (1.27.1859 – 6.4.1941) – last German Emperor and King of Prussia (6.15.1888 – 11.9.1918). Conflict with Chancellor Bismarck resulted in Bismarck’s resignation (1890). “Wilhelminian” period of his reign saw many new cultural projects and upsurge of Prussian militarism. Bad foreign policy maker and diplomat (e.g. Daily Telegraph affair, 1908). Abdicated in 1918 at end of WWI and fled to Holland.

Wolf, Markus (1.19.1923 – 11.9.2006) – family went into exile in Moscow before WWII. Journalist in the Soviet occupation zone in Berlin and later head of the foreign intelligence division of the Stasi in the GDR, the Hauptverwaltung Aufklärung (“General Reconnaissance Administration”), from 1953-86. Brother of DEFA film director Konrad Wolf. Sentenced to prison for various crimes after the fall of the Berlin Wall and his failed attempt to flee the GDR.

Wowereit, Klaus (10.1.1953) – Mayor of Berlin since 2001 and member of SPD. Born in Berlin and studied law at the Freie Universität Berlin. Youngest elected councilor in Berlin at age 30. Openly gay since before being elected mayor.