Franz Anton Beckenbauer was a German professional football player, manager, and official. Nicknamed der Kaiser, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, and is one of nine players to have won the FIFA World Cup, the European Champions Cup, and the Ballon d'Or. Beckenbauer was a versatile player who started out as a midfielder, but made his name as a central defender. He is often credited as having invented the role of the modern sweeper.
Sat.1 is a German free-to-air television channel that is a part of the ProSiebenSat.1 Media Group.
Germany has officially participated in every Eurovision Song Contest since its inaugural edition in 1956, except in 1996 when its entry did not qualify past the audio-only pre-selection round, and consequently was not seen in the broadcast final and does not count as one of Germany's 67 appearances. No other country has been represented as many times. Along with France, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom, Germany is one of the "Big Five" countries that are automatically prequalified for the final, due to their participant broadcasters being the largest financial contributors to the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). The final is broadcast in Germany on ARD's flagship channel, Das Erste.
Martin Johannes Walser was a German writer, especially known as a novelist. He began his career as journalist for Süddeutscher Rundfunk, where he wrote and directed audio plays. He was part of Group 47 from 1953.
The Comedian Harmonists were an internationally famous, all-male German close harmony ensemble that performed between 1928 and 1934 as one of the most successful musical groups in Europe before World War II. The group consisted of Harry Frommermann, Asparuh "Ari" Leschnikoff, Erich A. Collin, Roman Cycowski (baritone), Robert Biberti (bass), and Erwin Bootz (pianist).
Kabel Eins is a German free-to-air television channel that was launched on 29 February 1992 as Der Kabelkanal. It is owned by ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG. It is largely known for airing classic American films as well as TV series and documentaries. It is considered to be a sister channel of ProSieben.
Jan Josef Liefers, is a German actor, producer, director and musician.
Christoph Hein is a German author and translator. He grew up in the village Bad Düben near Leipzig. Being a clergyman's son and thus not allowed to attend the Erweiterte Oberschule in the GDR, he received secondary education at a gymnasium in the western part of Berlin. After his Abitur he jobbed inter alia as assembler, bookseller and assistant director. From 1967 to 1971 Hein studied philosophy in Leipzig and Berlin. Upon graduation, he became a dramatic adviser at the Volksbühne in Berlin, where he worked as a resident writer from 1974. Since 1979 Hein has worked as a freelance writer.
Torsten Lieberknecht is a German football manager and player, who last managed Darmstadt 98.
Emil Bock was a German anthroposophist, author, theologian and one of the founders of The Christian Community.
Germany was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 1983 with the song "Rücksicht", composed by Michael Reinecke, with lyrics by Volker Lechtenbrink, and performed by duo Hoffmann & Hoffmann. The German participating broadcaster on behalf of ARD, Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR), selected their entry through a national final. In addition, BR was also the host broadcaster and staged the event at the Rudi-Sedlmayer-Halle in Munich, after winning the previous edition with the song "Ein bißchen Frieden" by Nicole.
Reinhold Yabo is a German former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.
Thomas Geve was a German-born engineer, author and Jewish Holocaust survivor.
Sabine Derflinger is an Austrian film director, screenwriter, producer and dramaturgical consultant. She lives and works in Vienna and Berlin. Many of her films have won several awards, notably Geraubte Kindheit, Vollgas, Kleine Schwester, 42plus and Tag und Nacht. She is also well known for directing a number of films in the cult series Tatort.
Walter Kolbow was a German politician of the SPD. He was Parliamentary State Secretary (1998–2005) in the Federal Ministry of Defense, as well as deputy chairman of SPD Parliamentary Group in German Bundestag (2005–2009).
Andreas Franz Scheuer is a German politician of the Christian Social Union (CSU) party. From 2018 to 2021, he was Federal Minister of Transport and Digital Infrastructure in the Cabinet Merkel IV. From 2013 to 2018, he was Secretary General of the CSU. From 2009 to 2013, he was Parliamentary Secretary of State in the former Federal Ministry for Transport, Building and Urban Development in the Cabinet Merkel II. He was member of the German Bundestag from 2002 until 2024. In 2016, he was also elected district chairman of CSU Lower Bavaria, an office he held until 2023.
Wilhelm Killmayer, a German composer, wrote several song cycles, which form a substantial part of his compositions. The earliest cycle dates from 1953, the last was completed in 2008. He set poems by German romantic writers such as Friedrich Hölderlin and Joseph von Eichendorff, but was also inspired by French, Greek and Spanish poems, and by texts from the 20th-century poets Georg Trakl and Peter Härtling. He used mostly piano to accompany a singer, but also added percussion or other instruments, and scored some cycles in a version for voice and orchestra. His Hölderlin-Lieder, setting poems from the author's late period, were performed at major festivals and recorded.
Matthias Schmidt is a German musicologist.
Heinz Strelow was a German journalist, soldier and resistance fighter against the Nazi regime.
Unser liebe Fraue vom kalten Brunnen is a fictional Landsknecht song that was first published in 1556, in the last volume of Frische teutsche Liedlein, a five volume collection of songs written and published by Georg Forster. It was first published without a corresponding melody. The German composer Johann Stahel later composed a melody for the song. "Our Dear Virgin" is a reference to the Virgin Mary.
