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Berlin

People who shaped the city

Residents, visitors and the occasional passing genius — each with the addresses where their story is still standing.

Literature

  • Adolf von Baeyer

    Synthesizing indigo and developing a nomenclature for cyclic compounds that was later incorporated into IUPAC organic nomenclature.

  • Alexander von Humboldt

    His scientific exploration, quantitative research, and influential view of nature as an interconnected whole.

    • Humboldt Forum

  • Alfred Wegener

    Originating the continental drift hypothesis in 1912.

  • Bertolt Brecht

    A leading theorist of epic theatre, later called dialectical theatre, and the Verfremdungseffekt.

    • Dorotheenstadt Cemetery
    • Theater am Schiffbauerdamm

  • Claus von Stauffenberg

    A key figure in the German military resistance to Nazism and the failed attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler on 20 July 1944.

    • German Resistance Memorial Center at the Bendlerblock

  • Emil Fischer

    The Fischer projection, Fischer esterification, and the lock-and-key model of enzyme action

    • Dorotheenstadt Cemetery

  • Eva Braun

    Adolf Hitler’s longtime companion, a German photographer, and briefly his wife in the Berlin Führerbunker

  • Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel

    Developing a comprehensive philosophical system, often called absolute idealism, centred on spirit, history and freedom.

    • Dorotheenstadt Cemetery

  • Gustav Kirchhoff

    Contributions to the understanding of electrical circuits, spectroscopy, and black-body radiation.

  • Gustav Ludwig Hertz

    He helped reveal the laws governing what happens when an electron strikes an atom, a discovery honored with the 1925 Nobel Prize in Physics.

  • Gustav Stresemann

    Serving as German chancellor in 1923 and foreign minister from 1923 to 1929, and advancing Franco-German reconciliation, for which he shared the 1926 Nobel Peace Prize.

  • Heinrich Mann

    German writer known for his sociopolitical novels and fierce criticism of Fascism and Nazism.

    • Dorotheenstadt Cemetery

  • Herbert Marcuse

    A leading theorist of the New Left and the author of Eros and Civilization and One-Dimensional Man.

    • Dorotheenstadt Cemetery

  • Horst Köhler

    German economist and politician who served as President of Germany from 2004 to 2010.

  • Jacob Grimm

    Formulating Grimm's law, co-authoring the Deutsches Wörterbuch, writing Deutsche Mythologie, and editing Grimms' Fairy Tales.

  • Jacobus Henricus van 't Hoff

    Pioneering work in stereochemistry and physical chemistry, including chemical dynamics, osmotic pressure, equilibrium, kinetics and thermodynamics.

  • Johann Gottlieb Fichte

    A founding figure of German idealism whose work examined self-consciousness, subjectivity, and consciousness.

    • Dorotheenstadt Cemetery

  • Joseph Goebbels

    Nazi Party leader in Berlin and Reich Minister of Propaganda who used speeches, radio, film, and control of information to spread Nazi ideology and extreme antisemitism.

    • Former Berlin Sportpalast Site and Pallasseum

  • Karl Weierstrass

    Often cited as the father of modern analysis, Weierstrass formalized the definition of continuity and made important contributions to complex analysis.

  • Martin Bormann

    Nazi Party Chancellery head, Adolf Hitler's private secretary and convicted war criminal

  • Max Stirner

    German philosopher and writer best known for The Ego and Its Own and his radical individualist philosophy.

  • Nelly Sachs

    Poetry and drama expressing the grief and yearning of European Jews persecuted under Nazism.

    • Dorotheenstadt Cemetery

  • Paul Heyse

    German writer and translator awarded the 1910 Nobel Prize in Literature for his poetry, dramas, novels, and short stories.

  • Reinhard Heydrich

    A principal architect of the Holocaust who headed the Reich Security Main Office and chaired the Wannsee Conference.

    • Invalids' Cemetery

  • Richard von Weizsäcker

    Serving as Governing Mayor of West Berlin and as President of Germany during reunification

  • Theodor Mommsen

    A leading 19th-century classical scholar and author of The History of Rome, Mommsen received the 1902 Nobel Prize in Literature for his historical writings.

  • Walter Benjamin

    German philosopher, cultural critic, media theorist, and essayist known for his writings on art, literature, history, and translation.

    • Dorotheenstadt Cemetery

  • Wilhelm I

    The first German Emperor and King of Prussia during the unification of Germany in 1871.

    • Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church

  • Wilhelm von Humboldt

    Developing the Humboldtian ideal of education, which emphasized realizing individual potential rather than preparing people for fixed occupations or social roles.

    • Humboldt Forum

  • Adolf Eichmann

    One of the major organizers of the Holocaust, responsible for managing the mass deportation of millions of Jews to ghettos and extermination camps.

    • House of the Wannsee Conference

  • Albert Speer

    Nazi-era architecture and planning in Berlin, leadership of Germany's armaments ministry, and postwar autobiographies that shaped the contested “Speer myth.”

    • Heavy Load-Bearing Body

  • Anita Berber

    A boundary-breaking career as a dancer and actress in Weimar-era Berlin, and for being the subject of a painting by Otto Dix.

    • Anita Berber Memorial House

  • Charlotte von Mahlsdorf

    Founding the Gründerzeit Museum in Berlin-Mahlsdorf and rescuing and reconstructing the historic interior of the Mulackritze tavern.

    • Gründerzeit Museum and the Mulackritze Tavern

  • Chris Gueffroy

    The last person shot during an escape attempt across the Berlin Wall.

    • Chris Gueffroy Memorial

  • Christopher Isherwood

    His semi-autobiographical novel Goodbye to Berlin, based on his experiences in the city, became the basis for Cabaret.

    • Christopher Isherwood Memorial House

  • Claire Waldoff

    A celebrated Berlin cabaret singer and entertainer known for ironic songs in the Berlin dialect, often featuring lesbian undertones and themes.

    • Claire Waldoff Memorial House
    • Site of the Toppkeller

  • Clara Bühler

    Co-founding and operating Clärchen’s Ballroom in Berlin

    • Clärchen’s Ballroom

  • Derrick May

    A Detroit techno pioneer whose Berlin trail leads to the legendary DJ booth at E-Werk.

    • E-Werk

  • Dieter Wohlfahrt

    The first non-German and non-West Berlin resident to die at the Berlin Wall.

    • Dieter Wohlfahrt Memorial

  • Dietrich Bonhoeffer

    German Lutheran pastor, theologian and anti-Nazi dissident who helped found the Confessing Church.

    • Bonhoeffer House

  • Dimitri Hegemann

    Dimitri Hegemann matters to Berlin as the founder of Tresor and the person who gave it a new home inside a former power plant.

    • Site of the Original UFO Club
    • Tresor and Kraftwerk Berlin

  • Dora Richter

    The first known person to undergo complete male-to-female gender-affirming surgery.

    • Memorial Stele for the Institute for Sexual Science

  • Else Lasker-Schüler

    A German poet and playwright who was one of the few women affiliated with the Expressionist movement.

    • Hotel Sachsenhof and the Else Lasker-Schüler Plaque

  • Erwin Piscator

    A foremost exponent of epic theatre alongside Bertolt Brecht, Piscator emphasized the socio-political content of drama.

    • Volksbühne

  • Erwin Schabe

    As a Berlin schoolboy in 1961, Erwin Schabe was escorted through Eiskeller’s narrow access corridor by a British armored vehicle.

    • The Eiskeller Exclave

  • Freya Klier

    A German author, film director and East German civil rights activist before 1989/90.

    • Hirschhof

  • Frieder Schnock

    Artistic interventions addressing collective memory and the Holocaust, including Places of Remembrance in Berlin’s Bavarian Quarter.

    • Places of Remembrance in the Bavarian Quarter

  • Friedrich Ebert

    First president of Germany, serving from 1919 until his death in 1925.

    • Maria Regina Martyrum Memorial Church

  • Friedrich Hollaender

    German film composer and author associated with Berlin’s Wilde Bühne and Tingel-Tangel cabaret.

    • Renaissance Theatre
    • Theater des Westens and the Wilde Bühne Plaque

  • Fritzi Massary

    A celebrated Jewish operetta star who performed at Berlin’s Admiralspalast.

    • Admiralspalast

  • George Grosz

    Caricatural drawings and paintings of Berlin life in the 1920s.

    • George Grosz Memorial House
    • Volksbühne

  • Günter Holwas

    Co-founding the Blues Masses in Berlin

    • Samaritan Church

  • Hans Poelzig

    Hans Poelzig brought Expressionist architecture to Berlin in the building that contains the Babylon Cinema.

    • Babylon Cinema
    • Haus des Rundfunks

  • Heiner Carow

    Heiner Carow directed Coming Out, whose Berlin premiere coincided with the opening of the Berlin Wall.

    • Kino International

  • Ingeborg Hunzinger

    Ingeborg Hunzinger gave Berlin’s memory of the Rosenstraße protesters a powerful sculptural form in her multipart “Block of Women.”

    • Rosenstraße Protest Memorial

  • Juan Atkins

    American record producer and DJ described by Mixmag as "the original pioneer of Detroit techno."

    • E-Werk

  • Karl Liebknecht

    Opposition to Germany’s First World War effort, co-founding the Spartacus League and the Communist Party of Germany, and proclaiming a “Free Socialist Republic” in Berlin in 1918.

    • Friedrichsfelde Socialist Cemetery and Revolution Monument Site
    • German Resistance Memorial Center at the Bendlerblock
    • Prussian Landtag

  • Kirsten Krüger

    Co-founding Berlin’s KitKatClub and helping shape its door culture and sex-positive identity.

    • KitKatClub

  • Kurt Weill

    A leading stage composer, Kurt Weill is best known for his collaborations with Bertolt Brecht, particularly The Threepenny Opera and its song "Mack the Knife."

    • Theater am Schiffbauerdamm

  • Lotte Hahm

    Organizing Berlin’s lesbian movement through clubs, bars, publications, events, and networks.

    • Lotte Hahm Memorial Stele at the Former Jägerhof Casino

  • Magnus Hirschfeld

    A physician and sexologist who founded organizations advocating for homosexual and transgender rights.

    • Memorial Stele for the Institute for Sexual Science

  • Manfred von Richthofen

    Known as the Red Baron, he was a leading German fighter pilot of World War I and was officially credited with 80 air combat victories.

    • Invalidenfriedhof: Berlin Wall Remains

  • Marga von Etzdorf

    The first woman hired to fly for an airline and the first woman to fly solo across Siberia, travelling from Germany to Tokyo

    • Invalidenfriedhof: Berlin Wall Remains
    • Invalids' Cemetery

  • Olga von Roeder

    Claire Waldoff’s long-term partner, who helped make their Berlin salon a meeting place for lesbian cultural life.

    • Claire Waldoff Memorial House

  • Osman Kalin

    Osman Kalin created an improvised treehouse and garden beside the Berlin Wall.

    • Osman Kalin’s Treehouse by the Wall

  • Otto Weidt

    Protecting Jewish employees from deportation through his Berlin workshop for blind and deaf workers during the Holocaust.

    • Museum Otto Weidt’s Workshop for the Blind

  • Paul van Dyk

    German DJ and producer known for trance recordings including his remix of Humate’s "Love Stimulation" and the single "For an Angel".

    • E-Werk

  • Rainer Eppelmann

    Opposition to the German Democratic Republic and service as Minister for Disarmament and Defense in its last cabinet.

    • Samaritan Church

  • Renata Stih

    Her work with Frieder Schnock on public art addressing collective memory and the Holocaust.

    • Places of Remembrance in the Bavarian Quarter

  • Rosa Luxemburg

    Marxist theory, revolutionary socialism, anti-war activism, and writings on imperialism and socialist democracy.

    • Friedrichsfelde Socialist Cemetery and Revolution Monument Site
    • Prussian Landtag
    • Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz

  • Rudolf Lunau

    Rudolf Lunau turned his workplace at Berlin’s Babylon Cinema into a meeting point for clandestine Communist resistance to Nazism.

    • Babylon Cinema

  • Şermin Langhoff

    Founding Berlin's postmigrant Ballhaus Naunynstraße theater and directing the Maxim Gorki Theater.

    • Ballhaus Naunynstraße

  • Simon Thaur

    Co-founding Berlin’s KitKatClub with Kirsten Krüger in 1994.

    • KitKatClub

  • Stephan Krawczyk

    A German writer and songwriter who was a noted East German dissident before 1989.

    • Hirschhof

  • Toni Ebel

    German painter and one of the first trans women to receive gender-affirming surgery.

    • Memorial Stele for the Institute for Sexual Science

  • Trude Hesterberg

    A German film actress who founded and directed Berlin’s Wilde Bühne cabaret.

    • Theater des Westens and the Wilde Bühne Plaque

  • Walter Kollo

    German operettas, Singspiele, Possen mit Gesang, and popular songs

    • Admiralspalast

  • Wolf Biermann

    The 1968 song "Ermutigung" and his expatriation from East Germany in 1976.

    • Wolf Biermann’s Former Apartment

Architecture

Visual art

  • Adolf Hitler

    Dictator of Nazi Germany, Adolf Hitler led Germany into the Second World War and was central to the Holocaust, in which about six million Jews were murdered, and the deaths of millions of other victims.

    • Bellevue Palace
    • Berlin Story Bunker
    • Führerbunker Information Panel

  • Walter Gropius

    Founder of the Bauhaus and a pioneering architect of modernism.

    • Martin-Gropius-Bau

  • Wilhelm II

    The last German Emperor, who reigned from 1888 until his abdication in 1918.

    • Crown Prince's Palace
    • Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church

  • Ben Wagin

    • Parliament of Trees Against War and Violence

  • Désiré Feuerle

    • Feuerle Puig House

  • Ingar Dragset

    • Memorial to Homosexuals Persecuted under Nazism

  • Jeanne Mammen

    • Jeanne Mammen Studio

  • Karl Biedermann

    • The Deserted Room Memorial

  • Michael Elmgreen

    • Memorial to Homosexuals Persecuted under Nazism

  • Patricia Pisani

    • Murellenberg Memorial to Victims of Nazi Military Justice

Music

  • David Bowie

    • Hansa Studios and Meistersaal

  • E. T. A. Hoffmann

    A major German Romantic author known for fantasy and Gothic horror, including "The Sandman" and "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King."

  • Felix Mendelssohn

    An early Romantic composer whose works include the Wedding March, the Italian and Scottish Symphonies, Songs Without Words and the Violin Concerto. His 1829 performance of Bach's St Matthew Passion helped revive interest in Bach's music.

  • Frederick II of Prussia

    King of Prussia, military leader, composer, librettist, and patron of the arts and Enlightenment

    • Invalids' Cemetery

  • Marlene Dietrich

    Her role as Lola Lola in “The Blue Angel,” her classic Hollywood films, and her international career as a singer and live performer.

    • Friedrichstadt-Palast
    • Theater des Westens and the Wilde Bühne Plaque

  • Carola Stoiber

    • Site of the Original UFO Club

  • Harry Frommermann

    • Comedian Harmonists Founding House

  • Mark Ernestus

    • Former Hard Wax and Dubplates & Mastering Site

  • Moritz von Oswald

    • Former Hard Wax and Dubplates & Mastering Site

  • Rio Reiser

    • Georg von Rauch House

Politics

Science

other

Sport

Acting

Film

Follow the story on foot

These addresses are scattered across the city. Our routes and quests put them in an order that works.

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