Every once in a while you'll hear a person make a snide remark about German people, they'll often say "ugh, those Nazis" "ugh, those krauts." They stereotype Germans as bigots and war criminals. Yet they forget that most Germans aren't bigots and most of the nazis from WWII don't live anymore. Here are some Germans that are famous for things they did and some of them you probably didn't know were of German ancestry.
1.) Baron Von Steuben
A German/Prussian military officer who came to the US during the American Revolutionary War. He is said to have transformed the Continental army into a effective fighting force.
2.) John J Pershing (Pfersching)
A US army military commander that participated in WWI. Before he became a soldier, he was teacher that that gave classes to African American children. He is mostly known for participating in various wars and winning multiple medals.
3.) Henrich Focke and Gerd Achgelis
German Aviation pioneers that are said to have created the first helicopter called the FA-61.
4.) Dwight D Eisenhower
A German-American who had a major role in WWII by being the supreme commander of the expeditionary allied forces of Europe, after the war he would become president of the US and authorize the foundation of NASA. His descendants live to this day.
5.) Hugo Schmeisser
He might be the most controversial figure on this list because he was a gunsmith. There have been many great German gunsmiths but the one who made a major impact in history was Hugo Schmeisser. He changed the way wars are fought after he developed the popular STG44. The world's first successful assault rifle. It was this gun that would inspire various countries to develop their own assault rifles specifically the AK47 which was based on the STG44.
6.) Lale Andersen
A female German singer. She is known for being the first singer to be recorded singing a song by Norbert Schultze called Lili Marleen. She was a very popular singer in Germany. There is a statue dedicated to her and Lili Marleen.
7.) Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin
Both of these men are known for being the first astronauts to the moon.
8.) Kimo Leopoldo
An American retired mixed martial artist that is of German, French and Polynesian ancestry. He had a successful MMA career winning 10 out of 18 of his MMA fights with 7 loses and 1 draw.
9.) Brock Lesnar
A American former mixed martial artist that is said to be of German, Polish, and Norwegian ancestry. Very little is known about him aside from his career. He was a great collegiate wrestler at a young age, he then went on to become a professional wrestler. He took a break from professional wrestling and became a football player, after that he became a very successful mixed martial artist. Eventually he suffered diverticulitis which would end costing him his MMA career although he did continue to compete in MMA for a while even with diverticulitis. From there he returned to professional wrestling.
Celebrities
10.) Bruce Lee
As surprising as it might sound, Bruce Lee was actually part Chinese and part German. He was one of the most popular martial artists to have ever lived. He was one of the most physically fit men on the 20th century. His agility(speed, dexterity), strength, endurance and prowess were amazing, he also founded his own martial art known as Jeet Kune Do
11.) Leonardo Dicaprio
A very popular American actor of partial German ancestry, he is famous for his roles in the Titanic and Romeo and Juiet.
12.) Sandra Bullock
An American actress that is of German, French, Irish and English ancestry. She greatly known for role in "the blind side".
13.) Kevin Costner
A American actor of part German ancestry. One of his most famous roles was in the post apocalyptic world movie called "waterworld".
14.) Tom Cruise
A very popular American actor of part German ancestry. He is mostly known for his roles in the Mission impossible and Jack Reacher series. It's said that he was considered for the role of Neo in the Matrix.
There are many other famous Germans and German Americans but I think 14 entries are good for this take.
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