Events in the year 1981 in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Incumbents

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

—

Karl Carstens Karl Carstens (, 14 December 1914 – 30 May 1992) was a German politician. He served as the president of West Germany from 1979 to 1984. Early life and education Carstens was born in the City of Bremen, the son of a commercial school teacher, ...

Chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

—

Helmut Schmidt Helmut Heinrich Waldemar Schmidt (; 23 December 1918 – 10 November 2015) was a German politician and member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), who served as the chancellor of West Germany from 1974 to 1982. Before becoming Cha ...

Events

* 13 - 24 February -

31st Berlin International Film Festival The 31st annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 13 to 24 February 1981. The Golden Bear was awarded to the Spanish film '' Deprisa, Deprisa'' directed by Carlos Saura. The retrospective was dedicated to British film producer Mic ...

* 28 February -

Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest 1981 Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated between ...

* 14 June - East German general election, 1981 *

1 August Events Pre-1600 * 30 BC – Octavian (later known as Augustus) enters Alexandria, Egypt, bringing it under the control of the Roman Republic. *AD 69 – Batavian rebellion: The Batavians in Germania Inferior (Netherlands) revolt under ...

— Launch of the MK2

Volkswagen Polo The Volkswagen Polo is a supermini car (B-segment) produced by the German car manufacturer Volkswagen since 1975. It is sold in Europe and other markets worldwide in hatchback, saloon, and estate variants throughout its production run. History ...

, which makes use of a larger estate-like bodyshell, although it is still marketed as a

hatchback A hatchback is a car body configuration with a rear door that swings upward to provide access to a cargo area. Hatchbacks may feature fold-down second row seating, where the interior can be reconfigured to prioritize passenger or cargo volume. ...

. *

23 September Events Pre-1600 *AD 38, 38 – Julia Drusilla, Drusilla, Caligula's sister who died in June, with whom the emperor is said to have an incestuous relationship, is deified. *1122 – Pope Callixtus II and Holy Roman Emperor Henry V, Hol ...

— Launch of the new

Opel Ascona The Opel Ascona is a large family car (D-segment in Europe) that was produced by the German automaker Opel from 1970 to 1988. It was produced in three separate generations, beginning with rear-wheel-drive and ending up as a front-wheel drive J-ca ...

, which for the first time is available with a hatchback and front-wheel drive, as well as a new range of engines. *

29 October Events Pre-1600 * 312 – Constantine the Great enters Rome after his victory at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge, stages a grand '' adventus'' in the city, and is met with popular jubilation. Maxentius' body is fished out of the Tiber an ...

—

Raiders of the Lost Ark ''Raiders of the Lost Ark'' is a 1981 American action-adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Lawrence Kasdan, based on a story by George Lucas and Philip Kaufman. It stars Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, Paul Freeman, Ronal ...

in movie theaters in Germany. * December — The Volkswagen Polo and Opel Ascona miss out on the

European Car of the Year The European Car of the Year ("ECOTY") award is an international Car of the Year award established in 1964, by a collective of automobile magazines from different countries in Europe. The current organising companies of the award are ''Auto'' (Ita ...

award, which instead goes to the

Renault 9 The Renault 9 and Renault 11 are small family cars produced by the French manufacturer Renault for model years 1981–1988 in saloon (Renault 9) and hatchback (Renault 11) configurations — both were styled by the French automobile designer, Rob ...

from France. * Date unknown -

Museum für Moderne Kunst The Museum für Moderne Kunst (''Museum of Modern Art''), or short MMK, in Frankfurt, was founded in 1981 and opened to the public 6 June 1991. The museum was designed by the Viennese architect Hans Hollein. Because of its triangular shape, it i ...

in Frankfurt was founded, although it was not opened to the public until 1991.

Science

* Date unknown - German research team led by

Peter Armbruster Peter Armbruster (born 25 July 1931) is a German physicist at the Gesellschaft für Schwerionenforschung (GSI) facility in Darmstadt, Germany, and is credited with co-discovering elements 107 ( bohrium), 108 (hassium), 109 (meitnerium), 110 (d ...

and

Gottfried Münzenberg Gottfried Münzenberg (born 17 March 1940) is a German physicist. He studied physics at Justus-Liebig-Universität in Giessen and Leopold-Franzens-Universität Innsbruck and completed his studies with a Ph.D. at the University of Giessen, ...

at the

GSI Helmholtz Centre for Heavy Ion Research The GSI Helmholtz Centre for Heavy Ion Research (german: GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung) is a federally and state co-funded heavy ion () research center in the Wixhausen suburb of Darmstadt, Germany. It was founded in 1969 as the ...

(GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung) in

Darmstadt Darmstadt () is a city in the States of Germany, state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Frankfurt Rhine Main Area, Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it th ...

bombarded a target of bismuth-209 with accelerated nuclei of chromium-54 to produce 5 atoms of the isotope bohrium-262

Births

* January 21 —

Dany Heatley Daniel "Dany" James Heatley (born January 21, 1981) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey winger. Originally drafted by the Atlanta Thrashers second overall in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft, he won the Calder Memorial Trophy as the National ...

, hockey player * February 23 —

Jan Böhmermann Jan Böhmermann () (born 23 February 1981) is a German satirist, journalist, and podcast and television host. He also worked as a writer, producer, radio host, and is best known for his activism through publicity stunts. Early life and educati ...

, television presenter * March 8 -

Timo Boll Timo Boll (, ; born 8 March 1981) is a German professional table tennis player, who currently plays for Borussia Düsseldorf. He is ranked second in the German Table Tennis National League, and fifteen in the ITTF world rankings as of October 20 ...

, table tennis player * March 11 -

Matthias Schweighöfer Matthias Schweighöfer (; born 11 March 1981) is a German actor, voice actor, film director, and producer. Early life Born in Anklam, Western Pomerania, Schweighöfer attended Berlin's renowned acting school Ernst Busch Academy of Dramatic Art ...

, actor * March 12 -

Friedrich Mücke Friedrich Mücke (born 12 March 1981) is a German actor who has appeared in more than twenty films since 2006, many of which have tackled issues relating to the former GDR (the Communist state that was commonly known as East Germany East G ...

, German actor * April 26 -

Teresa Weißbach Teresa Weißbach (born 26 April 1981 in Zwickau, Bezirk Karl-Marx-Stadt, East Germany) is a German actress best known for her role as Miriam in the 1999 film ''Sonnenallee''. Biography She grew up in Stollberg, and at 10 years old joined the You ...

, German actress * April 27 —

Sandy Mölling Sandy Mölling (born 27 April 1981) is a German singer and television personality. She rose to fame as one of the members of the girl group No Angels, which were formed in 2000 on the German television talent show ''Popstars'', becoming one of ...

, pop singer * May 15 -

Ben Ben is frequently used as a shortened version of the given names Benjamin, Benedict, Bennett or Benson, and is also a given name in its own right. Ben (in he, בֶּן, ''son of'') forms part of Hebrew surnames, e.g. Abraham ben Abraham ( he, � ...

, German singer * May 21 -

Maximilian Mutzke Maximilian Nepomuk Mutzke (born 21 May 1981) is a German singer, songwriter and television personality. He gained public interest in early 2004 when he won ''SSDSGPS'', a talent contest hosted in Stefan Raab's late-night show ''TV total''. Mutzke ...

, drummer and singer * June 3 - Timur Tekkal, rugby player * June 12 -

Nora Tschirner Nora Marie Tschirner (born 12 June 1981) is a German film actress, musician and former television and radio presenter. Early life Nora Tschirner was born in East Berlin (then East Germany) to the documentary film director and the radio journa ...

, German actress * July 21 —

Stefan Schumacher Stefan Schumacher (born 21 July 1981) is a German former professional road racing cyclist. Schumacher won the bronze medal in the road race at the 2007 UCI Road World Championships, two stages in the 2006 Giro d'Italia and two stages in the 200 ...

, cyclist * August 4 -

Florian Silbereisen Florian Silbereisen (born 4 August 1981) is a German Schlager singer and show host. Since February 2004, Silbereisen has been a television presenter of the show ''Feste der Volksmusik'' on German broadcaster ARD. He was in a relationship with ...

, singer * August 18 -

Jan Frodeno Jan Frodeno (; born 18 August 1981) is a German triathlete who is the gold medal winner in men's triathlon at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, 3-time winner of the Ironman World Championship in 2015, 2016, and 2019, and 2-time winner of the I ...

, triathlete * August 22 -

Christina Obergföll Christina Obergföll (; born 22 August 1981) is a retired German track and field athlete who competed in the javelin throw. She was World Champion in 2013. Her personal best throw of 70.20 m is the German record. It also ranks her fifth on t ...

, athlete * August 30 -

André Niklaus André Niklaus (born 30 August 1981 in Berlin) is a German decathlete The decathlon is a combined event in athletics consisting of ten track and field events. The word "decathlon" was formed, in analogy to the word "pentathlon", from Greek ...

, athlete * September 7 -

Hannah Herzsprung Hannah Herzsprung (; born 7 September 1981) is a German actress. Biography Hannah Herzsprung is the daughter of actor Bernd Herzsprung and fashion designer Barbara Engel. She debuted as an actress in 1997 in the BR series ''Aus heiterem Himmel ...

, actress * October 2 -

Ronald Rauhe Ronald Rauhe (born 3 October 1981) is a German sprint canoeist who has competed since 1997. Competing in six Summer Olympics, he won a complete set of medals in the K-2 500 m event (gold: 2004, silver: 2008, bronze: 2000). Rauhe has won 16 world ...

, canoeist

Deaths

* 8 January —

Mortimer von Kessel __NOTOC__ Mortimer von Kessel (25 May 1893 – 8 January 1981) was a German general in the Wehrmacht during the Second World War. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves of Nazi Germany. Biography Kessel j ...

, Wehrmacht general (born

1893 Events January–March * January 2 – Webb C. Ball introduces railroad chronometers, which become the general railroad timepiece standards in North America. * Mark Twain started writing Puddn'head Wilson. * January 6 – Th ...

) * February 22 -

Curtis Bernhardt Curtis Bernhardt (15 April 1899 – 22 February 1981) was a Jewish film director born in Worms, Germany, under the name Kurt Bernhardt. He trained as an actor in Germany, and performed on the stage, before starting as a film director in 1924, wi ...

, film director (born

1899 Events January 1899 * January 1 ** Spanish rule ends in Cuba, concluding 400 years of the Spanish Empire in the Americas. ** Queens and Staten Island become administratively part of New York City. * January 2 – **Bolivia sets up a c ...

) * March 7 -

Hilde Krahwinkel Sperling Hildegard "Hilde" Krahwinkel Sperling ( née Krahwinkel; 26 March 1908 – 7 March 1981) was a German tennis player who became a dual-citizen after marrying Dane Svend Sperling in December 1933. She won three consecutive singles titles at the F ...

, German tennis player (born

1908 Events January * January 1 – The British ''Nimrod'' Expedition led by Ernest Shackleton sets sail from New Zealand on the ''Nimrod'' for Antarctica. * January 3 – A total solar eclipse is visible in the Pacific Ocean, and is the 46 ...

) * April 4 —

Carl Ludwig Siegel Carl Ludwig Siegel (31 December 1896 – 4 April 1981) was a German mathematician specialising in analytic number theory. He is known for, amongst other things, his contributions to the Thue–Siegel–Roth theorem in Diophantine approximation, ...

, mathematician (born

1896 Events January–March * January 2 – The Jameson Raid comes to an end, as Jameson surrenders to the Boers. * January 4 – Utah is admitted as the 45th U.S. state. * January 5 – An Austrian newspaper reports that Wil ...

) * April 20 —

Hans Söhnker Hans Söhnker (11 October 1903 – 20 April 1981) was a German film actor. He appeared in more than 100 films between 1933 and 1980. He was born in Kiel, Germany and died in Berlin, Germany. Selected filmography * '' The Tsarevich'' (1933) – ...

, actor (born

1903 Events January * January 1 – Edward VII is proclaimed Emperor of India. * January 19 – The first west–east transatlantic radio broadcast is made from the United States to England (the first east–west broadcast having been ...

) * May 9 —

Fritz Umgelter Fritz Umgelter (18 August 1922 – 9 May 1981) was a German television director, television writer, and film director. Umgelter worked mainly in television as both a writer and director. He received directing credit for 68 TV films or series, a ...

, television director, writer and film director (born

1922 Events January * January 7 – Dáil Éireann (Irish Republic), Dáil Éireann, the parliament of the Irish Republic, ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty by 64–57 votes. * January 10 – Arthur Griffith is elected President of Dáil Éirean ...

) * May 13 -

Joseph-Ernst Graf Fugger von Glött Joseph-Ernst Graf Fugger von Glött , since 1940: Fürst Fugger von Glött (26 October 1895, in Kirchheim in Schwaben – 13 May 1981, in Miesbach) was a German politician and representative of the Christian Social Union of Bavaria. He was a memb ...

, German politician (born

1895 Events January–March * January 5 – Dreyfus affair: French officer Alfred Dreyfus is stripped of his army rank, and sentenced to life imprisonment on Devil's Island. * January 12 – The National Trust for Places of Histor ...

) * May 18 -

Eleonore Baur Eleonore Baur (7 September 1885 – 18 May 1981), also known as Sister Pia, was a senior Nazi Party figure and the only woman known to have participated in the Munich Beer Hall Putsch.''The Adelaide Advertiser'', "Pioneer Nazi", 2 September ...

, German Nazi, only woman to participate in Munich

Beer Hall Putsch The Beer Hall Putsch, also known as the Munich Putsch,Dan Moorhouse, ed schoolshistory.org.uk, accessed 2008-05-31.Known in German as the or was a failed coup d'état by Nazi Party ( or NSDAP) leader Adolf Hitler, Erich Ludendorff and othe ...

(born

1885 Events January–March * January 3– 4 – Sino-French War – Battle of Núi Bop: French troops under General Oscar de Négrier defeat a numerically superior Qing Chinese force, in northern Vietnam. * January 4 – ...

) * June 4 -

Fritz Steuben Erhard Wittek (3 December 1898 – 4 June 1981), better known for his pen name Fritz Steuben, was a German author who wrote war novels and stories depicting American Indians (particularly the life of the Shawnee chief Tecumseh). Steuben wrote ...

, German author (born

1898 Events January–March * January 1 – New York City annexes land from surrounding counties, creating the City of Greater New York as the world's second largest. The city is geographically divided into five boroughs: Manhattan, B ...

) * June 16 -

Julius Ebbinghaus Julius Ebbinghaus (9 November 1885, Berlin – 16 June 1981, Marburg an der Lahn) was a German philosopher, one of the closest followers of Immanuel Kant active in the twentieth century. He was influenced by the Heidelberg school of neo-Kantiani ...

, German philosopher (born

) * July 5 —

Helmut Gröttrup Helmut Gröttrup (12 February 1916 – 4 July 1981) was a German engineer, rocket scientist and inventor of the smart card. During World War II, he worked in the German V-2 rocket program under Wernher von Braun. From 1946 to 1950 he headed a grou ...

, electrical engineer (born

1916 Events Below, the events of the First World War have the "WWI" prefix. January * January 1 – The British Royal Army Medical Corps carries out the first successful blood transfusion, using blood that had been stored and cooled. * ...

) * July 19 -

Karl Steinhoff Karl Steinhoff (November 24, 1892 – July 19, 1981) was a Minister-president (''Ministerpräsident'') of the German state (''Land'') of Brandenburg, then part of East Germany, and later served as East Germany's Minister of the Interior. Biog ...

, German politician (born

1892 Events January–March * January 1 – Ellis Island begins accommodating immigrants to the United States. * February 1 - The historic Enterprise Bar and Grill was established in Rico, Colorado. * February 27 – Rudolf Diesel applies for ...

) * August 23 -

Rolf Herricht Rolf Oskar Ewald Günter Herricht (October 5, 1927 – August 23, 1981) was an East German comedian. Biography Early life Herricht graduated from school in 1943 after passing a ' War Abitur', a form of an Abitur designated to free school pu ...

, German actor and comedian (born

1927 Events January * January 1 – The British Broadcasting ''Company'' becomes the British Broadcasting ''Corporation'', when its Royal Charter of incorporation takes effect. John Reith becomes the first Director-General. * January 7 * ...

) * October 29 -

Carl Joseph Leiprecht Karl Joseph Leiprecht (11 September 1903 – 29 October 1981) was the Bishop of Rottenburg. Born in the town of Hauerz (now Bad Wurzach) in the Allgäu, Leiprecht studied philosophy and theology at the University of Tübingen from 1923 to 1927. ...

, German bishop of Roman Catholic Church (born

) * November 22 -

Hans Adolf Krebs Sir Hans Adolf Krebs, FRS (, ; 25 August 1900 – 22 November 1981) was a German-born British biologist, physician and biochemist. He was a pioneer scientist in the study of cellular respiration, a biochemical process in living cells that ex ...

, German physician and biochem (born

1900 As of March 1 ( O.S. February 17), when the Julian calendar acknowledged a leap day and the Gregorian calendar did not, the Julian calendar fell one day further behind, bringing the difference to 13 days until February 28 ( O.S. February 15), 2 ...

) * December 31 — Gunther Krappe, Wehrmacht officer (born

)

References

Years of the 20th century in Germany 1980s in Germany