List of notable or famous playwrights from Germany, with bios and photos, including the top playwrights born in Germany and even some popular playwrights who immigrated to Germany. If you're trying to find out the names of famous German playwrights then this list is the perfect resource for you. These playwrights are among the most prominent in their field, and information about each well-known playwright from Germany is included when available.
List is made up of people like Hans Henny Jahnn and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.
This historic playwrights from Germany list can help answer the questions "Who are some German playwrights of note?" and "Who are the most famous playwrights from Germany?" These prominent playwrights of Germany may or may not be currently alive, but what they all have in common is that they're all respected German playwrights.
Use this list of renowned German playwrights to discover some new playwrights that you aren't familiar with. Don't forget to share this list by clicking one of the social media icons at the top or bottom of the page. {#nodes}1
Alois Senefelder
Dec. at 63 (1771-1834)Birthplace: Prague, Czech Republic
Johann Alois Senefelder (6 November 1771 – 26 February 1834) was a German actor and playwright... more2
August Stramm
Dec. at 41 (1874-1915)Birthplace: Münster, Germany
August Stramm (29 July 1874 – 1 September 1915) was a German poet and playwright who is... more3
Bertolt Brecht
Dec. at 58 (1898-1956)Birthplace: Swabia, Eurasia, Bavaria, Augsburg, Germany
Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (, German: [ˈbɛɐ̯tɔlt ˈbʁɛçt] (listen); 10 February 1898 – 14... more4
Carl Sternheim
Dec. at 64 (1878-1942)Birthplace: Leipzig, Germany
Carl Sternheim (born William Adolph Carl Francke; 1 April 1878 – 3 November 1942) was a German... more5
Carl Zuckmayer
Dec. at 81 (1896-1977)Birthplace: Nackenheim, Germany
Carl Zuckmayer (27 December 1896 – 18 January 1977) was a German writer and playwright. His... more6
Christian Dietrich Grabbe
Dec. at 35 (1801-1836)Birthplace: Detmold, Germany
Christian Dietrich Grabbe (11 December 1801 – 12 September 1836) was a German dramatist of the... more7
Christian Friedrich Hebbel
Dec. at 50 (1813-1863)Birthplace: Wesselburen, Germany
Christian Friedrich Hebbel (18 March 1813 – 13 December 1863), was a German poet and dramatist.... more8
Erich Mühsam
Dec. at 56 (1878-1934)Birthplace: Berlin, Germany
Erich Mühsam (6 April 1878 – 10 July 1934) was a German-Jewish antimilitarist anarchist... more9
Ernst Hardt
Dec. at 71 (1876-1947)Birthplace: Grudziądz, Poland
Friedrich Wilhelm Ernst Hardt (9 May 1876 – 3 January 1947), born Ernst Stöckhardt, was a... more
10Ernst Ottwalt
Dec. at 42 (1901-1943)Birthplace: Sypniewo, Złotów County, Poland
Ernst Ottwalt was the pen name of German writer and playwright Ernst Gottwalt Nicolas. A... more11
Ernst Toller
Dec. at 46 (1893-1939)Birthplace: Szamocin, Poland
Ernst Toller (1 December 1893 – 22 May 1939) was a German left-wing playwright, best known for... more12
Frank Wedekind
Dec. at 54 (1864-1918)Birthplace: Hanover, Germany
Benjamin Franklin Wedekind (July 24, 1864 – March 9, 1918), usually known as Frank Wedekind,... more13
Franz Xaver Kroetz
Age: 74Birthplace: Munich, Germany
Franz Xaver Kroetz (born 25 February 1946 in Munich) is a German author, playwright, actor and... more- 14
Friedel von Wangenheim
Dec. at 62 (1939-2001)Birthplace: Russia, Moscow
Friedel von Wangenheim was a screenwriter, songwriter, actor and playwright.... more 15
Fritz Oswald Bilse
Dec. at 73 (1878-1951)Birthplace: Kirn, Germany
Fritz Oswald Bilse (31 March 1878 in Kirn, Rhine Province – 1951) was a German novelist,... more16
Georg Kaiser
Dec. at 67 (1878-1945)Birthplace: Magdeburg, Germany
Friedrich Carl Georg Kaiser, called Georg Kaiser, (25 November 1878 – 4 June 1945) was a ... more17
George Furth
Dec. at 76 (1932-2008)Birthplace: USA, Chicago, Illinois
George Furth (December 14, 1932 – August 11, 2008) was an American librettist, playwright, and... more18
Gerhart Hauptmann
Dec. at 84 (1862-1946)Birthplace: Europe, Poland, Szczawno-Zdrój, Central Europe, Wałbrzych County
Gerhart Johann Robert Hauptmann (15 November 1862 – 6 June 1946) was a German dramatist and... more19
Gotthold Ephraim Lessing
Dec. at 52 (1729-1781)Birthplace: Kamenz, Germany
Gotthold Ephraim Lessing (; German: [ˈlɛsɪŋ]; 22 January 1729 – 15 February 1781) was a German... more20
Gustav Freytag
Dec. at 79 (1816-1895)Birthplace: Kluczbork, Poland
Gustav Freytag (German: [ˈfʁaɪˌtaːk]; 13 July 1816 – 30 April 1895) was a German novelist and... more21
Hans Henny Jahnn
Dec. at 65 (1894-1959)Birthplace: Hamburg, Germany
Hans Henny Jahnn (17 December 1894, Stellingen – 29 November 1959, Hamburg) was a German... more22
Hans Rehberg
Dec. at 62 (1901-1963)Birthplace: Poznań, Poland
Hans Rehberg was a writer and playwright....23
Hans Sachs
Dec. at 82 (1494-1576)Birthplace: Nuremberg, Germany
Hans Sachs (5 November 1494 – 19 January 1576) was a German Meistersinger ("mastersinger"),... more24
Heiner Müller
Dec. at 66 (1929-1995)Birthplace: Eppendorf, Saxony, Germany
Heiner Müller (German: [haɪnɐ mʏlɐ]; 9 January 1929 – 30 December 1995) was a German (formerly... more- 25
Heinrich Beck
Dec. at 43 (1760-1803)Birthplace: Gotha, Germany
Heinrich Christian Beck (19 February 1760 in Gotha – 7 May 1803 in Mannheim) was a German... more
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