Martin (von) Behaim (6 October 6, 1459 – 29 July 1507), (also known as Martinho da Boémia, Martin Bohemus, Martin Behaim von Schwarzbach, or Latin: Martinus de Boemia) was a German mariner, artist, cosmographer, astronomer, philosopher, geographer and explorer in service to the King of Portugal.

The Behaim family had immigrated to Nuremberg because of religious persecution around 916. Behaim was born in Nuremberg, according to one source, about 1436; other sources suggest as late as 1459; while others indicate that he was born in Bohemia to Martin Behaim and Agnes Schopper, merchants and the oldest of seven sons. Martin Behaim, the father, had many businesses including some in Venice, and later became an elected senator (1461), eventually dying in 1474 (Agnes Schopper died on 8 July 1487). Their son attended the highest schools, receiving a scientific education, obligated to learn the languages of Europe and devote themselves to commercial pursuits and studies, before being sent to under apprenticeship abroad.

Veit Harlan (22 September 1899 – 13 April 1964) was a German film director and actor.

Harlan was born in Berlin. After studying under Max Reinhardt, he first appeared on the stage in 1915 and, after World War I, worked in the Berlin stage. In 1922 he married Jewish actress and cabaret singer Dora Gerson; the couple divorced in 1924. Gerson later died at Auschwitz with her family. In 1929, he married Hilde Körber, having three children with her before divorcing her for political reasons related to the influence of National Socialism. Afterwards, he married the Swedish actress Kristina Söderbaum, for whom he wrote several tragic roles, further increasing her popularity.

David Thomson asserts that Harlan, having just started directing in 1935, was only able to attract Goebbels' attention because so much directorial talent had emigrated from Germany after the Nazi takeover. By 1937, Joseph Goebbels had appointed Harlan as one of his leading propaganda directors. His most notorious film was Jud Süß (1940), which was made for anti-Semitic propaganda purposes in Germany and Austria. In 1943 it received UFA's highest awards. Karsten Witte, the film critic, provided a fitting appellation for Harlan calling him "the baroque fascist". Harlan made the Reich's loudest, most colorful and expensive films.

Heinrich George (9 October 1893 – 25 September 1946), born Georg August Friedrich Hermann Schulz, was a German stage and film actor.

George is noted for having spooked the young Bertolt Brecht in his first directing job, a production of Arnolt Bronnen's Parricide (1922), when he refused to continue working with the director.

He played in Fritz Lang's Metropolis (1927) and Dreyfus (1930). In 1931, he starred in Berlin Alexanderplatz (1931).

George was an active member of the Communist party during the Weimar Republic. He worked with noted left-wing dramatists Erwin Piscator and Bertolt Brecht. He had also starred in the lead role of the 1931 film Berlin-Alexanderplatz.

After the Nazi takeover, George was initially classified as a "non-desirable" actor because of his earlier political affiliations and was thus barred from working in cinematic productions. However, he was able to reach an accommodation with the Nazi regime. In 1937, George was designated as a Staatsschauspieler (i.e. an actor of national importance) and in 1938 was appointed director of the Schiller Theater in Berlin. George actively collaborated with the Nazis and agreed to star in Nazi propaganda films such as Hitlerjunge Quex, Jud Süß, and Kolberg as well as appearing in numerous newsreels.