thumbnail

"Our Best": the 200 "Greatest Germans"

Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen ran "Unseres Besten" in 2003, or "Our Best", where the German public voted by the Internet, SMS or postcard the greatest Germans. An additional round was held for the top 10.
Some included may not have been born in modern-day Germany, or even lived in Germany for most of their life.
Some are extremely obscure today for their short-lived popularity.
Nazis were prohibited.
Quiz by Swaraelia
Rate:
Last updated: June 1, 2021
You have not attempted this quiz yet.
First submittedJune 1, 2021
Times taken77
Average score17.6%
Report this quizReport
25:00
Enter answer here
0
 / 204 guessed
The quiz is paused. You have remaining.
Scoring
You scored / = %
This beats or equals % of test takers also scored 100%
The average score is
Your high score is
Your fastest time is
Keep scrolling down for answers and more stats ...
Rank
Hint
Answer
1
Chancellor
Konrad Adenauer
2
Theologian
Martin Luther
3
Economist
Karl Marx
4
Member of the White Rose
Sophie Scholl
4
Member of the White Rose
Hans Scholl
5
Chancellor
Willy Brandt
6
Composer
Johann Sebastian Bach
7
Poet
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
8
Printing press pioneer
Johannes Gutenberg
9
Chancellor and general
Otto von Bismarck
10
Theoretical physicist
Albert Einstein
11
Priest
Adolph Kolping
12
Composer
Ludwig van Beethoven
13
Chancellor
Helmut Kohl
14
Industrialist, founder of corporate namesake
Robert Bosch
15
Pop singer
Daniel Küblböck
16
Inventor
Konrad Zuse
17
Theologian
Joseph Kentenich
18
Physician
Albert Schweitzer
19
Actor, activist
Karlheinz Böhm
20
Composer
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
21
Chancellor
Helmut Schmidt
22
Politician
Regine Hildebrandt
23
Feminist, journalist
Alice Schwarzer
24
TV presenter
Thomas Gottschalk
25
Rock singer, actor, activist
Herbert Grönemeyer
26
Racecar driver
Michael Schumacher
27
Chancellor
Ludwig Erhard
28
Physicist
Wilhelm Röntgen
29
TV presenter, journalist
Günther Jauch
30
Pop singer, producer
Dieter Bohlen
31
Cyclist, 1997 Tour de France
Jan Ullrich
32
Tennis player
Steffi Graf
33
Physician
Samuel Hahnemann
34
Theologian
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
35
Tennis player
Boris Becker
36
Football player/coach
Franz Beckenbauer
37
Industrialist, his List
Oskar Schindler
38
Pop singer
Nena
39
Vice Chancellor
Hans-Dietrich Genscher
40
Actor
Heinz Rühmann
41
TV presenter
Harald Schmidt
42
King
Frederick II of Prussia
43
Philosopher
Immanuel Kant
44
TV presenter
Patrick Lindner
45
Pop singer
Hartmut Engler
46
Nun, poet, composer
Hildegard von Bingen
47
Pop singer
Heino
48
Federal President
Richard von Weizsäcker
49
Military officer
Claus von Stauffenberg
50
Actress
Marlene Dietrich
51
Physician
Robert Koch
52
Vice Chancellor
Joschka Fischer
53
Novelist
Karl May
54
Film director
Vicco von Bülow
55
Theologian
Albertus Magnus
56
Football player
Rudi Völler
57
Comedian
Heinz Erhardt
58
Rock singer
Roy Black
59
Racecar driver
Heinz-Harald Frentzen
60
Activist
Wolfgang Apel
61
Explorer
Alexander von Humboldt
62
Rock singer
Peter Kraus
63
Rocket scientist
Wernher von Braun
64
Basketball player
Dirk Nowitzski
65
Metal singer
Campino
66
Minister of Defence
Franz Josef Strauß
67
Physician
Sebastian Kneipp
68
Novelist
Friedrich Schiller
69
Composer
Richard Wagner
70
Figure skater
Katarina Witt
71
Football player
Fritz Walter
72
Pop singer
Nicole
73
Theologian
Friedrich von Bodelschwingh
74
Aviator
Otto Lilienthal
75
Journalist
Marion Gräfin Dönhoff
76
Novelist
Thomas Mann
77
Novelist
Hermann Hesse
78
Actress
Romy Schneider
79
Ski jumper
Sven Hannawald
80
Empress
Elisabeth Wittelsbach
81
Actor
Willy Millowitsch
82
Chancellor
Gerhard Schröder
83
Artist
Joseph Bueys
84
Philosopher
Friedrich Nietzsche
85
Activist
Rudi Dutschke
86
Priest
Karl Lehmann
87
Businesswoman
Beate Uhse
88
Women who rebuilt German cities
Trümmerfrauen
89
Physicist
Carl Fredrich Gauss
90
Football player
Helmut Rahn
91
Painter
Albrecht Dürer
92
Boxer
Max Schmeling
93
Businessman
Karl Benz
94
Emperor
Frederick II
95
Pop singer
Reinhard Mey
96
Novelist
Heinrich Heine
97
Would-be assassin
Georg Elser
98
Linguist
Konrad Duden
99
Composer
James Last
100
Football player
Uwe Seeler
101
Physician, activist
Jenny de la Torre Castro
Rank
Hint
Answer
102
Economist
Erich Gutenberg
103
Chess player
Emanuel Lasker
104
Philosopher
Rudolf Steiner
105
Theologian
Edith Stein
106
Rock singer
Farin Urlaub
107
Soul singer
Xavier Naidoo
108
Astronomer
Nicolaus Copernicus
109
Mathematician
Adam Ries
110
Businessman
Gottlieb Daimler
111
Writer
Erich Kästner
112
Politician, activist
Rosa Luxemburg
113
Playwright
Bertold Brecht
114
President of West Germany
Theodor Heuss
115
Emperor
Otto I
116
Psychoanalyst
Sigmund Freud
117
Businesswoman
Christine Lucci
118
Writer
Wilhelm Busch
119
Politician
Hildegard Hamm-Brücher
120
Rock musician
Udo Lindenberg
121
Theologian
Eugen Drewermann
122
Physician
Ferdinand Sauerbruch
123
Pop singer
Peter Maffay
124
Cardinal, activist
Josef Frings
125
Schoolgirl, admin of Internet forum
Silke Fritzen
126
Physicist
Max Planck
127
Federal President
Johannes Rau
128
Writer
Jacob Grimm
128
Writer
Wilhelm Grimm
129
Freiherr
Hieronymous Karl Friedrich von Münchhausen
130
Emperor
Wilhelm II
131
Journalist
Rudolf Augstein
132
Novelist
Heinrich Böll
133
Racecar driver
Ralf Schumacher
134
Diarist
Anne Frank
135
Emperor
Frederick I
136
Cosmonaut
Sigmund Jähn
137
Swimmer
Franziska van Almsick
138
Theologian
Clemens August Graf von Galen
139
King
Ludwig II
140
Physicist, businessman
Carl Friedrich Zeiss
141
Actress
Hildegard Knef
142
Businessman
Levi Strauss
143
Football coach
Seep Herberger
144
Actor
Klaus Kinski
145
Physicist, businessman
Werner von Siemens
146
Businessman
Ferdinand Porsche
147
Journalist
Peter Scholl-Latour
148
Poet
August Heinrich Hoffmann von Fallersleben
149
Magician
Siegfried Fischbacher
149
Magician
Roy Horn
150
Bobsledder
Christoph Langen
151
Singer, Eurovision
Michelle
152
Physicist
Manfred von Ardenne
153
Philosopher, mathematician
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz
154
Philosopher
Arthur Schopenhauer
155
Novelist, journalist
Kurt Tucholsky
156
Businessman
Karl Hans Albrecht
156
Businessman
Theodor Paul Albrecht
157
Cardinal, future Pope
Joseph Ratzinger
158
Physicist
Werner Heisenberg
159
Actor
Harald Juhnke
160
Fictional
Till Eulenspiegel
161
Actor, comedian
Götz George
162
Engineer, inventor
Rudolf Diesel
163
Presenter, musician
Stefan Raab
164
Singer, actor
Hans Albers
165
Punk singer
Nina Hagen
166
Astronomer, mathematician
Johannes Kepler
167
Radio, TV presenter
Hans Rosenthal
168
Physician, journalist, activist
Rupert Neudeck
169
Comedian
Dieter Hildebrandt
170
Actress
Marie Theres Kroetz-Relin
171
Priest, activist
Kilian Saum
172
Reggae singer
Hans Söllner
173
East German politician, Mayor of Berlin
Gregor Gysi
174
Roman officer, tribal Germanic chieftain
Arminius
175
Novelist
Günter Wilhelm Grass
176
Actress
Inge Meysel
177
Pop singer
Hans Hartz
178
Fashion designer
Karl Lagerfeld
179
Football player
Oliver Kahn
180
Football player
Gerd Müller
181
Aviation pioneer
Ferdinand von Zeppelin
182
Engineer, inventor
Nicolaus Otto
183
Businesswoman
Grete Schickedanz
184
Communist, feminist
Clara Zetkin
185
Journalist, philosopher
Hannah Arendt
186
Federal President
Roman Herzog
187
Rocket physicist
Hermann Orberth
188
Comedian, actor
Karl Valentin
189
Pop singer
Frank Schöbel
190
Businessman
Jakob Fugger
191
Boxer
Henry Maske
192
Violinist
Helmut Zacharias
193
Football player
Michael Ballack
194
Scientist, film director
Bernhard Grzimek
195
Composer
Richard Strauss
196
Minister President of Bavaria
Edmund Stoiber
197
Pirate
Nikolaus Störtebeker
198
Presenter, comedian
Peter Frankenfeld
199
Physician, activist
Mildred Scheel
200
Model
Claudia Schiffer
+2
Level 48
Jun 1, 2021
The quiz was one in a series broadcasted across the world in the early to late 2000s, starting with the BBC's 2002 "100 Greatest Britons".

Some trivia from them:

-Belgium ran three contests simultaneously on rival media channels: two for Dutch speakers, one for French speakers.

-Anger from no black Britons being featured in the original led to the creation of 100 Great Black Britons. Similarly, Ireland's Greatest spawned Ireland's Greatest Women, Ireland's Greatest Sportsperson and Ireland's Greatest Scientist.

-In the Greatest Croatian, Vlaho Bukovac was both #64 and #80 and Vladimir Prelog #57 and #96, due to counting error.

-The winner of The Greatest Czech...was fictional.

-South Africa's was so controversial that nobody but Mandela had their results published before the show was scrapped.

-Gandhi automatically won The Greatest Indian.

-Japan's contest allowed people to choose anyone, not just the Japanese. Napoleon was #24, Marie Antoinette was #54 and Cleopatra was #68.