Writers from Germany

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary German Writers of all time. This list of famous German Writers is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography's online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of German Writers.

1. #1

   

   Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

   1749 - 1832

   HPI 90.96188 languages

   Johann Wolfgang von Goethe is most famous for his novel, Faust. The novel tells the story of a man who sells his soul to the devil in exchange for power and knowledge.

2. #2

   

   Anne Frank

   1929 - 1945

   HPI 85.31127 languages

   Anne Frank is most famous for her diary, which she wrote while she was in hiding with her family from the Nazis during World War II.

3. #3

   

   Hermann Hesse

   1877 - 1962

   HPI 85.13114 languages

   Hermann Hesse is most famous for his book, "Demian: The Story of a Youth," which was published in 1919.

4. #4

   

   Friedrich Schiller

   1759 - 1805

   HPI 84.57114 languages

   Friedrich Schiller is most famous for his poem "Ode to Joy" which he wrote for the play "The Ninth Symphony."

5. #5

   

   Bertolt Brecht

   1898 - 1956

   HPI 83.64107 languages

   Bertolt Brecht is most famous for his theories of theater and the alienation effect. Brecht believed that theater should be a tool for social change and not just entertainment. He coined the term "alienation effect" to describe the process of making the audience aware of the artificiality of the play.

6. #6

   

   Thomas Mann

   1875 - 1955

   HPI 83.34119 languages

   Thomas Mann is most famous for his novel "The Magic Mountain."

7. #7

   

   Heinrich Heine

   1797 - 1856

   HPI 81.9697 languages

   Heinrich Heine was a German poet who wrote in the Romantic style. He is most famous for his lyric poetry, which includes "Die Lorelei" and "Ich grolle nicht."

8. #8

   

   Erich Maria Remarque

   1898 - 1970

   HPI 81.9493 languages

   Erich Maria Remarque is most famous for his novel All Quiet on the Western Front. The novel tells the story of a group of German soldiers fighting in World War I.

9. #9

   

   Charles Bukowski

   1920 - 1994

   HPI 80.2377 languages

   Charles Bukowski is most famous for his autobiographical novels and poetry about the life of a low-income, working-class man.

10. #10

    

    Novalis

    1772 - 1801

    HPI 79.0871 languages

    Novalis is most famous for his unfinished novel, Heinrich von Ofterdingen.