List of personalities of the city of Wilhelmshaven

The list of personalities in the city of Wilhelmshaven includes people who were born in Wilhelmshaven (including the places that have been incorporated into Wilhelmshaven over time) as well as people who have a special relationship with Wilhelmshaven without having been born there.

Honorary citizen

The honorary citizenship is the highest appreciation of the city of Wilhelmshaven. The city has awarded the following people:

• Franz Kuhlmann (1877–1965)

Entrepreneur from Wilhelmshaven, founder of a foundation to promote a chair in private international law , Federal Cross of Merit (1953)

Awarded honorary citizenship on February 27, 1957

• Johann Janßen (1895–1983)

Rüstringen City Councilor, Wilhelmshaven City Councilor (1946–1972), Lord Mayor (1961–1972)

Awarded honorary citizenship on July 5, 1972

• Arthur Grunewald (1902–1985)

Wilhelmshaven City Councilor (1945–1960), City Director (1960–1967) and Lord Mayor (1972–1976)

Awarded honorary citizenship on June 30, 1977

• Walther Schumann (1903–1986)

Wilhelmshaven City Director (1956–1968), Alderman of the City Council (1968–1976)

Awarded honorary citizenship on May 5, 1978

• Hans Janßen (1918-2001)

Wilhelmshaven city council and parliamentary group chairman (from 1955), member of the state parliament (since 1963), mayor (1981–1986), Federal Cross of Merit (1986)

Awarded honorary citizenship on September 16, 1998

• August Desenz (1938–)

Master diver , has collected more than one million euros in donations since 1984 with his hobby playing the organ barrel. The money went to various institutions, associations, institutions and organizations from urban life, Federal Cross of Merit (1998), honor plate of the city of Wilhelmshaven and the Club zu Wilhelmshaven (2016)

Awarded honorary citizenship on July 3, 2018

During the time of National Socialism , Adolf Hitler was given honorary citizenship on March 10, 1933 together with President Hindenburg . After the unification of the cities of Wilhelmshaven and Rüstringen to form the city of Wilhelmshaven, Hitler was granted honorary citizenship on June 29, 1937. Both awards were revoked by a unanimous council decision on February 15, 1984.

Mayor, Lord Mayor and City Directors

→ Main article : List of Wilhelmshaven mayors, lords and city directors

sons and daughters of the town

The following people were born in Wilhelmshaven, Rüstringen or in one of the municipalities / parishes located in today's area of ​​the city, or had a special relationship with them. Whether or not they later had their sphere of activity in Wilhelmshaven is irrelevant.

To 1900

• August Friedrich Wilhelm Crome (1753–1833), late scout and cameraman
• Eilhard Mitscherlich (1794–1863), chemist and mineralogist
• Karl Gustav Mitscherlich (1805–1871), pharmacologist and university professor
• Carl Bernhard Friedrich Graepel (1818–1890), lawyer and politician
• Emil Meinardus (born December 21, 1859 in Wilhelmshaven; † November 10, 1942 in Chilton, Wisconsin), composer, music teacher, conductor and music dealer
• Kurt Doerry (1874-1947), track and field athlete
• Ernst Batsch (1879–1948), naval officer, most recently rear admiral of the Reichsmarine
• Marie Behncke (1880–1944), first woman from northwest Germany in 1919 in the Weimar National Assembly
• Friedrich Frerichs (1882–1945), politician, member of the state parliament (SPD)
• Max Hüesker (1883–1961), District Administrator of Recklinghausen
• Arthur Raschke (1883–1967), politician
• Arthur Slauck (1887–1958), internist and rheumatologist
• Hugo Henke (1888–1945), communist politician
• Wilhelm Krökel (1890–1945), chairman of the workers' sports organization in the Weser-Ems district and member of the local parliament
• Irmgard von Lemmers-Danforth (1892–1984), pediatrician and collector of historical furniture
• Erhard Milch (1892–1972), Field Marshal General and Inspector General of the Air Force
• Christian Usinger (1894–1949), officer, most recently lieutenant general in World War II
• Karl Drewes (1895–1958), German general
• Richard John (1896–1965), officer, most recently lieutenant general in World War II
• Walther Wadehn (1896–1949), officer, most recently major general in World War II
• Rudolf Schroeder (1897–1965), architect
• Georg Joel (1898–1981), Oldenburg Prime Minister 1933–45
• Emil Kraft (1898–1982), member of the Lower Saxony Constituent Committee
• Erwin Müller (1899–1982), politician (FDP), 1946 member of the appointed Oldenburg State Parliament

1901 to 1950

• Karl Elliger (1901–1977), Protestant theologian
• Hans Hellmann (1903–1938), physicist
• Werner Milch (1903–1984), lawyer and officer in the Wehrmacht, younger brother of Erhard Milch
• Hans Rudolf Rösing (1905–2004), naval officer, submarine commander, most recently rear admiral in the German Navy
• Arwed Blomeyer (1906–1995), legal scholar
• Herbert Klein (1903–1978), politician, police chief
• Arwed Blomeyer (1906–1995), legal scholar
• Johann Meyer (1906–1977), politician (SPD), member of the Bremen citizenship
• Adalbert von Blanc (1907–1976), naval officer, most recently flotilla admiral in the German Navy
• Harald Koch (1907–1992), social democratic politician
• Klaus Riedel (1907–1944), rocket pioneer
• Herbert Albers (1908-2001), physician
• Peter von Haselberg (1908–1994), journalist
• Hans Beutz (1909–1997), administrative officer and politician (SPD)
• Fritz A. Koeniger (1910-19 ??), author
• German Hafner (1911–2008), classical archaeologist and university professor
• Helmut Hertrampf (1911–2003), painter and writer
• Otto Blanck (1912–1982), painter and excavation draftsman
• Henry Picker (1912–1988), lawyer, recorder of Adolf Hitler's "Table Talks"
• Peter Moesser (1915–1989), pop composer
• Otto Bertram (1916–1987), officer in the Wehrmacht and later lieutenant colonel in the German armed forces
• Bruno Carstens (1918–2001), actor
• Richard Lehners (1918–2000), Lower Saxony Minister of the Interior
• Horst Robbers (1918–2010), medic, medical officer, admiralty doctor
• Herbert Bruns (1920–1998), biologist
• Helmut Heißenbüttel (1921–1996), writer
• Georg Schmidt-Westerstede (1921–1982), painter and graphic artist
• Gerhard Fleischhut (1923–1978), painter and graphic artist
• Ludwig von Friedeburg (1924–2010), sociologist and politician
• Hinrich Johannes Janßen (1924–2011), politician and member of the Lower Saxony state parliament
• Hans Clarin (1929–2005), actor and voice actor
• Almuth Salomon (1932–2018), historian
• Klaus Reiners (* 1934), church musician
• Jost-Dietrich Busch (* 1935), ministerial official
• Günter Schmahl (1936–2018), physicist, professor at the University of Göttingen and pioneer of X-ray microscopy
• Wolbert K. Smidt (1936–2016), secret service agent, diplomat and publicist
• Karl Leister (* 1937), clarinetist
• Hermann Haiduck (* 1938), art historian and restorer
• Konrad Krauss (* 1938), actor
• Rolf Julius (1939–2011), visual artist
• Helmut Krueger (* 1939), ergonomist and university professor
• Kurt Stadel (1940–2020), voice imitator
• Matthias Tomczak (1941–2019), oceanographer
• Uwe Appold (* 1942), visual artist
• Werner Buß (* 1945), politician (SPD), member of the Lower Saxony State Parliament 1994–2008
• Rainer Hajek (* 1945), politician (CDU), member of the Bundestag
• Klaus-Peter Hirtz (* 1945), naval officer, most recently rear admiral in the German Navy
• Wilfrid Adam (* 1947), politician
• Hans-Michael Bock (* 1947), film historian, filmmaker, translator and publicist
• Kralle Krawinkel (1947–2014), guitarist, founding member of the Trio
• Wolfgang E. Nolting (* 1948), Vice Admiral, former Inspector of the Navy
• Gila Altmann (* 1949), member of the Bundestag 1994–2002, Parliamentary State Secretary in the Federal Environment Ministry 1998–2002
• Rainer Fetting (* 1949), visual artist
• Hayo Freitag (* 1950), filmmaker
• Rainer Pinnow (* 1950), admiral doctor in the Navy

From 1951

• Arnold Preuß (* 1951), theater director, actor, director and translator, holder of the Federal Cross of Merit (2016)
• Horst Stowasser (1951–2009), anarchist and author
• Gerd Harms (* 1953), education and European politician
• Klaus Ignatzek (* 1954), jazz musician
• Olaf Büttner (* 1956), writer
• Ralf Wieland (* 1956), politician, President of the Berlin House of Representatives
• Thomas Hengelbrock (* 1958), conductor and violinist
• Achim Engstler (* 1959), writer
• Tom Stromberg (* 1960), theater director and director
• Söke Dinkla (* 1962), art historian and director of the Lehmbruck Museum in Duisburg
• Christiane Franke (* 1963), writer
• Jens Kaltenstein (* 1963), judge at the Federal Social Court
• Kerstin Paeserack (* 1963), photo model and beauty queen, married Kerstin Schmidt
• Sebastian Gramss (* 1966), double bass player, cellist and composer
• Olaf Lies (* 1967), politician (SPD); since 2017 Minister for the Environment, Energy, Building and Climate Protection in Lower Saxony
• Marcus Sauermann (* 1967), author
• Carmen Everts (* 1968), member of the Hessian state parliament
• Peter Koobs (* 1968), musician, composer, music producer
• Matthias Ducci (* 1969), university professor for chemistry
• Doris Niespor (* 1969), non-fiction author and writer
• Martin Lingnau (* 1971), pianist and composer
• Marc Pickel (* 1971), sailor
• Marc Brenken (* 1973), jazz pianist
• Thomas Pommer (* 1973), television editor and producer
• Markus Maria Winkler (* 1975), actor and singer
• Niels Högel (* 1976), serial killer
• Jan Henrik Behrends (* 1979), handball player
• Christoph Semmler (* 1980), soccer player
• Lydia Möcklinghoff (* 1981), zoologist, tropical ecologist, author and anteater researcher
• Maren Brinker (* 1986), national volleyball player
• Sebastian Polter (* 1991), soccer player
• Kai Pröger (* 1992), soccer player
• Dennis Doden (* 1993), handball player
• Kea Eckermann (* 1994), soccer player and health economist

Personalities associated with the city

The names of the following people are inextricably linked with the city of Wilhelmshaven:

• Gotthilf Heinrich Ludwig Hagen (born March 3, 1797 in Königsberg , † February 3, 1884 in Berlin) - Wilhelmshaven was built according to his port design
• Kaiser Wilhelm I (born March 22, 1797 in Berlin, † March 9, 1888 in Berlin) - namesake of the city
• Prince Adalbert of Prussia (born October 29, 1811 in Berlin , † June 6, 1873 in Karlsbad ) - admiral, supporter and promoter of the founding of Wilhelmshaven
• Julius Preller (born December 20, 1834 in Offenbach am Main , † December 15, 1914 in Varel ) - painter
• Friedrich Graf von Baudissin (born April 3, 1852 - † February 5, 1921) - Admiral, honorary citizen of Rüstringen
• Johann Georg Siehl-Freystett (born February 16, 1868 in Freystedt / Baden, † August 15, 1919 in Wilhelmshaven) - painter
• Wilhelm Krüger (born February 25, 1871 in Oldenburg; † February 29, 1940) - port construction director in Wilhelmshaven
• Reinhard Nieter (born October 16, 1883 in Brunne ; † June 8, 1964 in Wilhelmshaven) - local politician in Rüstringen, Lord Mayor of Wilhelmshaven from 1945–1952 and 1956–1961
• Martin Wagner (born November 5, 1885 in Königsberg; † May 28, 1957 in Cambridge) - architect, urban planner and architectural theorist, 1911–1918 city architect in Rüstringen
• Georg Harms-Rüstringen (born November 2, 1890 in Rüstringen , † October 14, 1955 in Rastede ) - painter
• Georg Emil Baumann (born January 10, 1891 in Elberfeld , † February 2, 1977 in Wilhelmshaven) - painter, councilor
• Rudolf Sang (born March 30, 1900 in Darmstadt ; † April 24, 1972 in Wilhelmshaven) - actor, director and theater manager
• Ingo Sommer (born June 12, 1942 in Paderborn) - architectural historian, university professor, 1973–2002 building authority manager in Wilhelmshaven
• Hartmut Wiesner (* 1944 in Sanderbusch) - painter, sculptor

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Experience the Wilhelmshaven information brochure ! 2004, p. 11
2. ↑ wilhelmshaven.de: August Desenz becomes an honorary citizen of the city of Wilhelmshaven , accessed on July 5, 2018
3. ↑ Klaus Dede: To Weser and Jade - regional history
4. ↑ Headwind 236 - June 2008