The Deutsche Biographische Enzyklopadie (DBE) [Dictionary of German Biography] is now available in a completely new edition. It provides information on about 63,000 individuals whose lives, works and achievements are considered remarkable to this very day and who remain part of German cultural heritage. This includes men and women from all aspects of public life. In this encyclopaedia, reaching back as far as the Early Middle Ages, Austrians and German-speaking Swiss are also included, as are people from other places, whose journeys through life led them to German-speaking regions, where they made a significant impact. The articles of the first edition including supplements have been thoroughly revised and updated for the new edition, and 7,500 new articles were added. They contain all important details in compact form: details on the individuals’ background, education, influential encounters, career, the areas in which they worked and were influential, characteristic works and achievements, friendships and relationships, membership of groups and associations, reception and in special cases, prizes and honours. Connections and relations between persons, families and social groups, as well as traditions and schools of thought, are illustrated through a refined system of cross-references between the articles. In general, a reference to further reading is provided at the end of each entry.
1,300 articles are written and signed by recognised experts. Those articles unfurl the lives, achievements and influence of exceptional individuals in greater depth and most are highlighted with portraits of these persons. Details about the people and references to further literature are brought up to current standards of biographical research. Thus there now exists an indispensable biographical encyclopaedia, which should not be missing in any library. For easy access to the alphabetically arranged volumes, the Index of Persons in volume 11 lists all the names of historically recorded persons occurring in volumes 1-10, who either have their own individual articles or are mentioned in the texts. Name variations, birth names, pseudonyms etc. are itemized in a referral system. The Index of Places in volume 12 lists the places referred to in volumes 1-10, in alphabetical order. Reference is made to place of birth, activity and death. Places sharing the same name are identified by the provision of additional information, such as the district. For places in previous German or Austrian territories, the name in the current language of the country in question is used.