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This part of the list is of very poor quality. At the moment it is a random collection of names (pop and rock groups, singers, conductors, instrumentalists), some famous, some not known at all. Is Christian Wunderlich (actor and singer) so important that he should feature in the "top 100" of German musicians? What about Fritz Wunderlich instead? Suggestions:
—Preceding unsigned comment added by 212.188.232.97 ( talk • contribs)
I think List of Germans should be moved to List of famaous German. We don´t have to list anybody and if I take a look at the portugese, german and italian wikipedia article name we should really rename it. -- ckorff 12:03, 13 Apr 2005 (UTC)
war criminal is insuficient for Adolf Hitler we are talking about crimes against humanity !
I suppose this needs to be linked to from one of the pages to do with Germany, but I don't know where (there are various pages listed at German) - does anybody know if there's a standard way of doing this? -- Camembert
I've just added a link to List of famous Germans from Germany/Temp. -- Juan M. Gonzalez 02:34 Sep 8, 2002 (UTC)
Could we change "Sportspersons" to "Athletes"? -- Zoe
it seems pointless to list Hitler as a war criminal. Are we then going to list all the nazi leaders as war criminals? where will it end? the man was a dictator-that sums it up pretty clear
Unfortunately, whilst I'm sure many would like to do this, assuming "dictator" implies "war criminal" is considered biased (even though this may often be the case), so the two must, in the encylopaedic spirit, be considered mutually exclusive. Equally, we can't assume that everyone knows who Hitler was. 209.93.147.141 ( talk) 17:20, 21 September 2017 (UTC)
I very much doubt whether Anne Frank is a famous german. In the Netherlands we see her as a dutch jewish person, but I am not aware of her formal nationality.
ethnically?? I would just write that she´s born here so listing her would be okay. --
ckorff 12:03, 13 Apr 2005 (UTC)
I totally agree with the above statement about Anne Frank. It is a bit rich to list her under famous Germans. Also if you want Germany to be considered to be a 'hip' modern country perhaps it is best to trim-down the very long list of Nazi's and Royalty!! Norwikian 10:44, 5 Nov 2003 (UTC)
It seems there are some issues about who qualifies as German. It seems clear that the article is about people of German nationality (as opposed to people of German language or people who lived in Germany); maybe we should explicitly say so.
Three sample cases that might cause confusion:
I would propose: Let's be clear that we are talking about legal nationality. For people born between the 16th century and 1806: they are German if they have the nationality of a state of the Holy Roman Empire. For people born in 1871 and later: they are German if they have the nationality of the German Empire or the Federal Republic of Germany or the German Democratic Republic.
Problematic cases:
-- Chl 18:56, 30 Apr 2005 (UTC)
The only solution that would avoid any kind of NPOV would be to delete everyone before 1871. Martg76 14:20, 7 May 2005 (UTC)
Definition of German is much more difficult then you think. You forgot the the most terrible example: Hitler. The Austrians try to make him a German, but he was born in Austria, and he was grown up there to. Thats reason why i deleted him from your list. I think its not in the intrest of wikipedia to ignore this truth, even when its popular. Sorry for my poor english, but I'm (take a guess...) German.
The reason, however, is that people can become American. Other countries, however, are more genetically based, no? Or, at least in a birthright sense of the idea. You wouldn't call an immigrant to Japan Japanese, would you? Andyklus. (sorry for editing, 2nd time commenting.)
please add to the list
It seems to me that anyone who has his or her own article in the Wikipedia for a given language should be entered in the corresponding list of that Wikipedia ; and that it might be possible to find the missing ones with a bit of system software. 82.163.24.100 ( talk) 20:48, 15 November 2008 (UTC)
Adolf Hitler was NOT German, I repeat, was not. He was born near Linz, Austria (Osterreich), and last time I checked, that was a separate nation in 1889, and remains to this day. He just considered himself German. Hitler should be removed from that list. Эрон Кинней 22:14, 24 November 2005 (UTC)
- So Austrians are not ethnic Germans - how laughable. 1. He was born in Braunau am Inn, which is situated at the border between the two political areas. 2. If Austrians are not Germans in larger terms, why don't they speak their own language like the Swiss (partly)? If the political argument counts, then there was no German citizen before 1871. Before we would have to talk about Prussians, Bavarians, Saxons only. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 213.158.196.93 ( talk) 08:45, 22 August 2009 (UTC)
German is a nationality based on a nation and an ethnicity. However Austrians consider themselves Austrian German. Brunswick gave citizenship to Hitler so he could take over the country and led millions of people to death. If you are Canadian and an anglo-Canadian this does not make you American even though you have a similar ethnic group! Case in point he was an infamous Austrian. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 125.82.3.26 ( talk) 03:20, 16 November 2009 (UTC)
The decent of Austrians comes from Germanic tribes such as the Bavarians and Alemanni descendants of whom live in both Germany and Austria. I suppose if Hitler can't be considered German then there can't be anyone with a hyponated nationality i.e. Swedish-American. Informationguy
The jews on this list of germans should be taken off. The jews already have a list on your website specifically for jews. The reason for this is that if there were not any germanic people there would not be a german people or germanyand the jews are not germanic, jews are a middle eastern people. Lets say hypothetically that if jews had come into northern europe and there were no other people there(neither celtic nor germanic) jews would not call the countries that they live in france,germany, england, or ireland they would call thema middle eastern name. Let's also say hypothetically that if all the germanic and celtic people were wiped of the face of the earth there is no way that jews would continue calling themselves french german english or white for that matter. The nationhood of those countries depend on the germanic and celtic people who had settled in those areas and fought to keep them. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 204.42.24.8 ( talk • contribs)
Should be added: Ernst Mayr Johann gregor Mendel —Preceding unsigned comment added by 217.189.132.246 ( talk • contribs)
I agree whole-heatedly with the subject of this post. I am German, but was not born there, nor have I ever visited. I am still self and openly regarded as part of the Volk because I am. To say otherwise would be offensive, just as it may offend a Jew born in Antarctica to tell him he is not a Jew. Simply living in a geographical location does not make you a native. Einstein could equally be regarded as an American and does not belong on this list. The same would go with the others. Lars2701 ( talk) 15:49, 25 December 2010 (UTC)
Please strike out the entry of Sophie Scholl under the headline "Personalities of the Nazi Party and Regime"! she definetely is not a person of the Nazi Party and Regime! She died fighting against these criminals! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 84.142.251.206 ( talk • contribs) 198.82.28.90
I don't believe its fair to list men like Erwin Rommel under the Nazi headline. Was he a famous person in Germany during Hitler's reign? Yes. Was he a Nazi? No, and he gave his life proving that. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 198.82.28.90 ( talk • contribs)
As there is no list criteria, does the list only cover Germans at birth only or also include German nationals as the older generation were not born in Germany, as I have included three names from the Porsche automobile corporation that is German, of the lot Ferry Porsche is a German citizen. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Willirennen ( talk • contribs)
The list of Poles contains "Mikolaj Kopernik" (since January 2003, shortly after that list was created), and many others like "Jan Heweliusz". As long as these claims are made, Nikolaus Kopernikus, Johannes Hevelius etc. deserve to be mentioned on the List of Germans, too. -- Matthead discuß! O 19:54, 30 May 2007 (UTC)
Due to recent edit warring at Johannes Hevelius (less so at Nicolaus Copernicus), both controversial figures were added under an extra "See also" section to Category:German astronomers and Category:Polish astronomers, to inform about the claims. I think they should be in neither of these categories themselves, or in both at once. Of course they are in the Category:17th century astronomers resp. Category:16th century astronomers. While the List of Germans does not show them, the List of Poles still features them with pictures and Polish naming (this is English Wikipedia, in case someone forgot). -- Matthead DisOuß 19:57, 10 January 2008 (UTC)
1. Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher (1742-1819).
2. Helmuth von Moltke (the Elder), 1800-91. Norvo ( talk) 17:42, 5 November 2008 (UTC)
Mozart is Austrian! Nobody in their right mind follows the silly historically based logic given for including him on this list. Salzburg was an independent country ruled by an archbishop at that time now it is a province in Austria. Austria claims Salzburg as Austrian history just like Bavaria is German history... Austria claims him and should. Germany today does not and should not. Nobody claims that all Austrians are really German or still German? Silly. I mean by that logic all Austrians born at the time when the nation was part of the German Bund are German. Austrian nationality is based on political history. They may be ethnic Germans but they have a different political and cultural history than Germany. Are the USA and Canada the same? no either. Can you tell me when Salzburg was part of the modern German Reich? This is wrong. Not real history. This site is looking awful silly if Mozart on this list. Sounds and smacks of nasty pan-German or neo-nazism too me. nonsense. total nonsense. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 125.82.3.26 ( talk) 03:15, 16 November 2009 (UTC)
The 2nd Republic of Austria is still the successor state to the Archdiocese of Salzburg. It is that simple. It has nothing to do with the modern state of Germany! Mozart was a Salzburger and that makes him Austrian by history. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 125.82.13.92 ( talk) 02:54, 17 November 2009 (UTC)
Maybe the category Swabian people would also fit. His father came from Augsburg and was temporary engaged in Salzburg, where Wolfgang was born. But apart from this: He was neither a citizen of the modern Federal Republic of Germany nor of the modern Republic of Austria, but of the Holy Roman Empire of the German nation, whose head was the Emperor in Vienna. German speaking inhabitants considered themselves Swabians, Bavarians, Austrians, Prussians etc, perhaps even in the first instance, but all considered themselves as Germans. One should not try to apply current imaginations to former times. -- Henrig ( talk) 17:47, 20 March 2010 (UTC)
I have reverted an edit removing Copernicus. There should be discussion and consensus before a controversial removal such as this. There are enough sources out there arguing that Copernicus probably had German as a first language to at least make an arguable case for inclusion here. Because he is on the Polish list does not automatically exclude him here, Wikipedia has to deal with contradictory sources all the time, and often, the best thing for an encyclopedia to say is that the sources do not agree. SpinningSpark 16:19, 6 May 2010 (UTC)
This is not correct, and Copernicus should not be included here. Being on this list is crediting Germany, not Copernicus. The fact that he spoke German is irrelevant, and the mentioning that it was his first language is not accurate. If this were a list of German speaking perons, it would indeed be a list of millions. Copernicus was a Polish citizen and also of Polish ancestry. He spent just as much time in Italy as he did in Germany while studying, speaking, and educating, yet there is no reason to name him an Italian. Further, I doubt the Copernicus museum in Frombork or any other Pole would be thankful of him being listed here since Copernicus was extremely proud of his Polish heritage. Copernicus should be removed, and credited only as Polish which he indeed was. The assumption that someone should be included into a list of Germans only by association or language spoken is asinine. Sources: Nicholaus Copernicus Museum, Frombork, Poland. August 2012
And why to not believe Polish sources? Because he was Polish? No other single user has posted any relevant information, content, or even a link with verifiable sources pointing to Copernicus being considered "German". So if one doesn't want to believe the sources of the country where he was born, resided, and died, perhaps we shall submit others just for satisfaction of a few outside sources. What shall we use? Let us go to the US, then, for starters. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy clearly lists him as a Pole with a dazzling trail of references listed. If you are against Stanfords research abilities, Encyclopedia Britannica also explains in detail that Copernicus was a Pole. We don't even need to take Britannica's word for it as there is a delightful book by the name of "Nicolaus Copernicus: Making the Earth a Planet" by Owen Gingerich and James MacLachlan which also clearly describes Copernicus as being a Pole. Did Copernicus travel to, and live for some time in Germany? Yes. He also traveled and lived for some time in Italy. But Copernicus was born in, was a citizen of, and died in Poland, his several residences and ties to the country all documented and verifiable. His school and University records are also verifiable, from several locations in Poland. Because he knew the German language and traveled there for periods of time does not make him German. It should NOT be allowed to list Copernicus here again until there is a verifiable resource proving otherwise, which I'm sure to say will not be found. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Mihailovich ( talk • contribs) 22:43, 6 August 2012 (UTC)
And it seems that no one is able to prove any way that Copernicus could possibly be listed as a German. Content must be verifiable. There has been no content provided except for those that show he was Polish. Why is he listed here? August, 2012 — Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.191.241.244 ( talk) 23:50, 6 August 2012 (UTC)
Inconsistencies, and biased. Look at the simple facts. Copernicus was born in Torun, Poland (you may argue that it was a different territory or only the Polish crown, but this has no relevance). His fathers family is quoted as being traced to German ancestry and decent, but no verifiable information is presented about his father being a German. Copernicus' mother however had very strong ties to many different Polish locations and families. Only this information alone should show that he is a Pole, not a German. Going further, his initial education was all completed in Poland, and not until after departing the University of Krakow at the age of 22 did he leave Poland. Without regurgitating the entire history of Copernicus, I only ask why is he listed here? There is no evidence to support this. To list one only because he spoke and wrote a language is preposterous. In that event, the United States, UK, Canada, and Australia would be able to claim each and every notable citizen of each others' who spent an inkling of time within their borders studying or presenting. This seems a personal matter of dispute between Poland and Germany for some ridiculous scuffle, and it is warping the verifiable information at hand. Copernicus may have been partially German by ancestry, but it makes him no more "German" than Vlad Tepes. I strongly suggest he be removed, and left as a Pole. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.191.241.244 ( talk) 00:57, 7 August 2012 (UTC)
German inventions, from the thermometer, to telephone (yes), to car, to the first rocket in space, to the mp3, have no doubt impacted humanity significantly. There should be a separate section, and not just have some of them lumped in with "others". Lars2701 ( talk) 16:09, 25 December 2010 (UTC)
Some of the comments above are intensely legalistic and, to cap it all, apply the wrong laws or inappropriate laws. Since the first half of the C19, the key decider of a person's legal nationality in many German states, including Prussia and Bavaria, has been the father's nationality, if known, otherwise the mother's. Rigidly applying the American criterion of place of birth produces anomalies and absurdities.
Using the criterion of 'born or not born in the Holy Roman Empire' produces absurdities galore: for example, Mozart was born within the HRE and so was Jan Hus but they are generally regarded as Austrian and Czech respectively ... At this rate poor Kant is going get classed as a Russian philosopher! Attention needs to be paid to whether or not Germans generally regard the individuals concerned as German. Anthing else will produce nonsense. Norvo ( talk) 17:30, 5 April 2014 (UTC)
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This is the
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This part of the list is of very poor quality. At the moment it is a random collection of names (pop and rock groups, singers, conductors, instrumentalists), some famous, some not known at all. Is Christian Wunderlich (actor and singer) so important that he should feature in the "top 100" of German musicians? What about Fritz Wunderlich instead? Suggestions:
—Preceding unsigned comment added by 212.188.232.97 ( talk • contribs)
I think List of Germans should be moved to List of famaous German. We don´t have to list anybody and if I take a look at the portugese, german and italian wikipedia article name we should really rename it. -- ckorff 12:03, 13 Apr 2005 (UTC)
war criminal is insuficient for Adolf Hitler we are talking about crimes against humanity !
I suppose this needs to be linked to from one of the pages to do with Germany, but I don't know where (there are various pages listed at German) - does anybody know if there's a standard way of doing this? -- Camembert
I've just added a link to List of famous Germans from Germany/Temp. -- Juan M. Gonzalez 02:34 Sep 8, 2002 (UTC)
Could we change "Sportspersons" to "Athletes"? -- Zoe
it seems pointless to list Hitler as a war criminal. Are we then going to list all the nazi leaders as war criminals? where will it end? the man was a dictator-that sums it up pretty clear
Unfortunately, whilst I'm sure many would like to do this, assuming "dictator" implies "war criminal" is considered biased (even though this may often be the case), so the two must, in the encylopaedic spirit, be considered mutually exclusive. Equally, we can't assume that everyone knows who Hitler was. 209.93.147.141 ( talk) 17:20, 21 September 2017 (UTC)
I very much doubt whether Anne Frank is a famous german. In the Netherlands we see her as a dutch jewish person, but I am not aware of her formal nationality.
ethnically?? I would just write that she´s born here so listing her would be okay. --
ckorff 12:03, 13 Apr 2005 (UTC)
I totally agree with the above statement about Anne Frank. It is a bit rich to list her under famous Germans. Also if you want Germany to be considered to be a 'hip' modern country perhaps it is best to trim-down the very long list of Nazi's and Royalty!! Norwikian 10:44, 5 Nov 2003 (UTC)
It seems there are some issues about who qualifies as German. It seems clear that the article is about people of German nationality (as opposed to people of German language or people who lived in Germany); maybe we should explicitly say so.
Three sample cases that might cause confusion:
I would propose: Let's be clear that we are talking about legal nationality. For people born between the 16th century and 1806: they are German if they have the nationality of a state of the Holy Roman Empire. For people born in 1871 and later: they are German if they have the nationality of the German Empire or the Federal Republic of Germany or the German Democratic Republic.
Problematic cases:
-- Chl 18:56, 30 Apr 2005 (UTC)
The only solution that would avoid any kind of NPOV would be to delete everyone before 1871. Martg76 14:20, 7 May 2005 (UTC)
Definition of German is much more difficult then you think. You forgot the the most terrible example: Hitler. The Austrians try to make him a German, but he was born in Austria, and he was grown up there to. Thats reason why i deleted him from your list. I think its not in the intrest of wikipedia to ignore this truth, even when its popular. Sorry for my poor english, but I'm (take a guess...) German.
The reason, however, is that people can become American. Other countries, however, are more genetically based, no? Or, at least in a birthright sense of the idea. You wouldn't call an immigrant to Japan Japanese, would you? Andyklus. (sorry for editing, 2nd time commenting.)
please add to the list
It seems to me that anyone who has his or her own article in the Wikipedia for a given language should be entered in the corresponding list of that Wikipedia ; and that it might be possible to find the missing ones with a bit of system software. 82.163.24.100 ( talk) 20:48, 15 November 2008 (UTC)
Adolf Hitler was NOT German, I repeat, was not. He was born near Linz, Austria (Osterreich), and last time I checked, that was a separate nation in 1889, and remains to this day. He just considered himself German. Hitler should be removed from that list. Эрон Кинней 22:14, 24 November 2005 (UTC)
- So Austrians are not ethnic Germans - how laughable. 1. He was born in Braunau am Inn, which is situated at the border between the two political areas. 2. If Austrians are not Germans in larger terms, why don't they speak their own language like the Swiss (partly)? If the political argument counts, then there was no German citizen before 1871. Before we would have to talk about Prussians, Bavarians, Saxons only. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 213.158.196.93 ( talk) 08:45, 22 August 2009 (UTC)
German is a nationality based on a nation and an ethnicity. However Austrians consider themselves Austrian German. Brunswick gave citizenship to Hitler so he could take over the country and led millions of people to death. If you are Canadian and an anglo-Canadian this does not make you American even though you have a similar ethnic group! Case in point he was an infamous Austrian. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 125.82.3.26 ( talk) 03:20, 16 November 2009 (UTC)
The decent of Austrians comes from Germanic tribes such as the Bavarians and Alemanni descendants of whom live in both Germany and Austria. I suppose if Hitler can't be considered German then there can't be anyone with a hyponated nationality i.e. Swedish-American. Informationguy
The jews on this list of germans should be taken off. The jews already have a list on your website specifically for jews. The reason for this is that if there were not any germanic people there would not be a german people or germanyand the jews are not germanic, jews are a middle eastern people. Lets say hypothetically that if jews had come into northern europe and there were no other people there(neither celtic nor germanic) jews would not call the countries that they live in france,germany, england, or ireland they would call thema middle eastern name. Let's also say hypothetically that if all the germanic and celtic people were wiped of the face of the earth there is no way that jews would continue calling themselves french german english or white for that matter. The nationhood of those countries depend on the germanic and celtic people who had settled in those areas and fought to keep them. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 204.42.24.8 ( talk • contribs)
Should be added: Ernst Mayr Johann gregor Mendel —Preceding unsigned comment added by 217.189.132.246 ( talk • contribs)
I agree whole-heatedly with the subject of this post. I am German, but was not born there, nor have I ever visited. I am still self and openly regarded as part of the Volk because I am. To say otherwise would be offensive, just as it may offend a Jew born in Antarctica to tell him he is not a Jew. Simply living in a geographical location does not make you a native. Einstein could equally be regarded as an American and does not belong on this list. The same would go with the others. Lars2701 ( talk) 15:49, 25 December 2010 (UTC)
Please strike out the entry of Sophie Scholl under the headline "Personalities of the Nazi Party and Regime"! she definetely is not a person of the Nazi Party and Regime! She died fighting against these criminals! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 84.142.251.206 ( talk • contribs) 198.82.28.90
I don't believe its fair to list men like Erwin Rommel under the Nazi headline. Was he a famous person in Germany during Hitler's reign? Yes. Was he a Nazi? No, and he gave his life proving that. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 198.82.28.90 ( talk • contribs)
As there is no list criteria, does the list only cover Germans at birth only or also include German nationals as the older generation were not born in Germany, as I have included three names from the Porsche automobile corporation that is German, of the lot Ferry Porsche is a German citizen. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Willirennen ( talk • contribs)
The list of Poles contains "Mikolaj Kopernik" (since January 2003, shortly after that list was created), and many others like "Jan Heweliusz". As long as these claims are made, Nikolaus Kopernikus, Johannes Hevelius etc. deserve to be mentioned on the List of Germans, too. -- Matthead discuß! O 19:54, 30 May 2007 (UTC)
Due to recent edit warring at Johannes Hevelius (less so at Nicolaus Copernicus), both controversial figures were added under an extra "See also" section to Category:German astronomers and Category:Polish astronomers, to inform about the claims. I think they should be in neither of these categories themselves, or in both at once. Of course they are in the Category:17th century astronomers resp. Category:16th century astronomers. While the List of Germans does not show them, the List of Poles still features them with pictures and Polish naming (this is English Wikipedia, in case someone forgot). -- Matthead DisOuß 19:57, 10 January 2008 (UTC)
1. Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher (1742-1819).
2. Helmuth von Moltke (the Elder), 1800-91. Norvo ( talk) 17:42, 5 November 2008 (UTC)
Mozart is Austrian! Nobody in their right mind follows the silly historically based logic given for including him on this list. Salzburg was an independent country ruled by an archbishop at that time now it is a province in Austria. Austria claims Salzburg as Austrian history just like Bavaria is German history... Austria claims him and should. Germany today does not and should not. Nobody claims that all Austrians are really German or still German? Silly. I mean by that logic all Austrians born at the time when the nation was part of the German Bund are German. Austrian nationality is based on political history. They may be ethnic Germans but they have a different political and cultural history than Germany. Are the USA and Canada the same? no either. Can you tell me when Salzburg was part of the modern German Reich? This is wrong. Not real history. This site is looking awful silly if Mozart on this list. Sounds and smacks of nasty pan-German or neo-nazism too me. nonsense. total nonsense. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 125.82.3.26 ( talk) 03:15, 16 November 2009 (UTC)
The 2nd Republic of Austria is still the successor state to the Archdiocese of Salzburg. It is that simple. It has nothing to do with the modern state of Germany! Mozart was a Salzburger and that makes him Austrian by history. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 125.82.13.92 ( talk) 02:54, 17 November 2009 (UTC)
Maybe the category Swabian people would also fit. His father came from Augsburg and was temporary engaged in Salzburg, where Wolfgang was born. But apart from this: He was neither a citizen of the modern Federal Republic of Germany nor of the modern Republic of Austria, but of the Holy Roman Empire of the German nation, whose head was the Emperor in Vienna. German speaking inhabitants considered themselves Swabians, Bavarians, Austrians, Prussians etc, perhaps even in the first instance, but all considered themselves as Germans. One should not try to apply current imaginations to former times. -- Henrig ( talk) 17:47, 20 March 2010 (UTC)
I have reverted an edit removing Copernicus. There should be discussion and consensus before a controversial removal such as this. There are enough sources out there arguing that Copernicus probably had German as a first language to at least make an arguable case for inclusion here. Because he is on the Polish list does not automatically exclude him here, Wikipedia has to deal with contradictory sources all the time, and often, the best thing for an encyclopedia to say is that the sources do not agree. SpinningSpark 16:19, 6 May 2010 (UTC)
This is not correct, and Copernicus should not be included here. Being on this list is crediting Germany, not Copernicus. The fact that he spoke German is irrelevant, and the mentioning that it was his first language is not accurate. If this were a list of German speaking perons, it would indeed be a list of millions. Copernicus was a Polish citizen and also of Polish ancestry. He spent just as much time in Italy as he did in Germany while studying, speaking, and educating, yet there is no reason to name him an Italian. Further, I doubt the Copernicus museum in Frombork or any other Pole would be thankful of him being listed here since Copernicus was extremely proud of his Polish heritage. Copernicus should be removed, and credited only as Polish which he indeed was. The assumption that someone should be included into a list of Germans only by association or language spoken is asinine. Sources: Nicholaus Copernicus Museum, Frombork, Poland. August 2012
And why to not believe Polish sources? Because he was Polish? No other single user has posted any relevant information, content, or even a link with verifiable sources pointing to Copernicus being considered "German". So if one doesn't want to believe the sources of the country where he was born, resided, and died, perhaps we shall submit others just for satisfaction of a few outside sources. What shall we use? Let us go to the US, then, for starters. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy clearly lists him as a Pole with a dazzling trail of references listed. If you are against Stanfords research abilities, Encyclopedia Britannica also explains in detail that Copernicus was a Pole. We don't even need to take Britannica's word for it as there is a delightful book by the name of "Nicolaus Copernicus: Making the Earth a Planet" by Owen Gingerich and James MacLachlan which also clearly describes Copernicus as being a Pole. Did Copernicus travel to, and live for some time in Germany? Yes. He also traveled and lived for some time in Italy. But Copernicus was born in, was a citizen of, and died in Poland, his several residences and ties to the country all documented and verifiable. His school and University records are also verifiable, from several locations in Poland. Because he knew the German language and traveled there for periods of time does not make him German. It should NOT be allowed to list Copernicus here again until there is a verifiable resource proving otherwise, which I'm sure to say will not be found. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Mihailovich ( talk • contribs) 22:43, 6 August 2012 (UTC)
And it seems that no one is able to prove any way that Copernicus could possibly be listed as a German. Content must be verifiable. There has been no content provided except for those that show he was Polish. Why is he listed here? August, 2012 — Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.191.241.244 ( talk) 23:50, 6 August 2012 (UTC)
Inconsistencies, and biased. Look at the simple facts. Copernicus was born in Torun, Poland (you may argue that it was a different territory or only the Polish crown, but this has no relevance). His fathers family is quoted as being traced to German ancestry and decent, but no verifiable information is presented about his father being a German. Copernicus' mother however had very strong ties to many different Polish locations and families. Only this information alone should show that he is a Pole, not a German. Going further, his initial education was all completed in Poland, and not until after departing the University of Krakow at the age of 22 did he leave Poland. Without regurgitating the entire history of Copernicus, I only ask why is he listed here? There is no evidence to support this. To list one only because he spoke and wrote a language is preposterous. In that event, the United States, UK, Canada, and Australia would be able to claim each and every notable citizen of each others' who spent an inkling of time within their borders studying or presenting. This seems a personal matter of dispute between Poland and Germany for some ridiculous scuffle, and it is warping the verifiable information at hand. Copernicus may have been partially German by ancestry, but it makes him no more "German" than Vlad Tepes. I strongly suggest he be removed, and left as a Pole. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.191.241.244 ( talk) 00:57, 7 August 2012 (UTC)
German inventions, from the thermometer, to telephone (yes), to car, to the first rocket in space, to the mp3, have no doubt impacted humanity significantly. There should be a separate section, and not just have some of them lumped in with "others". Lars2701 ( talk) 16:09, 25 December 2010 (UTC)
Some of the comments above are intensely legalistic and, to cap it all, apply the wrong laws or inappropriate laws. Since the first half of the C19, the key decider of a person's legal nationality in many German states, including Prussia and Bavaria, has been the father's nationality, if known, otherwise the mother's. Rigidly applying the American criterion of place of birth produces anomalies and absurdities.
Using the criterion of 'born or not born in the Holy Roman Empire' produces absurdities galore: for example, Mozart was born within the HRE and so was Jan Hus but they are generally regarded as Austrian and Czech respectively ... At this rate poor Kant is going get classed as a Russian philosopher! Attention needs to be paid to whether or not Germans generally regard the individuals concerned as German. Anthing else will produce nonsense. Norvo ( talk) 17:30, 5 April 2014 (UTC)
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