Events in the year 2008 in Germany.

Incumbents

Federal level

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 ...

– Angela Merkel

State level

*Minister-President of Baden-Württemberg – Günther Oettinger * Minister-President of Bavaria – Günther Beckstein *

Governing mayor of Berlin The Governing Mayor (german: Regierender Bürgermeister) of Berlin is the head of government, presiding over the Senate of Berlin, Berlin Senate. As Berlin is an independent city as well as one of the constituent States of Germany (''Bundesländer ...

– Klaus Wowereit * First mayor of Bremen –

Jens Böhrnsen Jens Böhrnsen (born 12 June 1949) is a German politician of the SPD who served as President of the Senate and Mayor of Bremen from 2005 to 2015. From 1 November 2009 until 31 October 2010 he was President of the Bundesrat. As such, he was acti ...

* Minister-President of Brandenburg – Matthias Platzeck * First mayor of Hamburg – Ole von Beust *Minister-President of Hesse – Roland Koch *Minister-President of Lower Saxony – Christian Wulff *Minister-President of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern – Harald Ringstorff *Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia – Jürgen Rüttgers *Minister-President of Rhineland-Palatinate –

Kurt Beck Kurt Beck (born 5 February 1949) is a German politician of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), who served as the 7th Minister President of Rhineland-Palatinate from 1994 to 2013 and as the 55th President of the Bundesrat in 2000/01. In May 2006, ...

*Minister-President of the Saarland – Peter Müller *Minister-President of Saxony – Georg Milbradt (to May 27) - Stanislaw Tillich *Minister-President of Saxony-Anhalt –

Wolfgang Böhmer Wolfgang Böhmer (born 27 January 1936) is a German politician ( CDU) and was the 5th Minister-President of Saxony-Anhalt from 16 May 2002 to 19 April 2011. He served as President of the Bundesrat in 2002/03. He formerly worked as a medical doc ...

*Minister-President of Schleswig-Holstein – Peter Harry Carstensen *Minister-President of Thuringia –

Dieter Althaus Dieter Althaus (born 29 June 1958 in Heiligenstadt/ Eichsfeld) is a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). He served as the 3rd Minister President of Thuringia from 2003 to 2009. In 2003/04 he was the 58th President of the B ...

Events

* 1 January - Deutsche Post loses its monopoly on mail under 50 grams following EU legislation. * 1 January - Berlin, Cologne and Hanover introduce restrictions on cars without suitable catalytic converters or diesel particulate filters. More cities will follow during the year. * 1 January - Eight states introduce a

smoking ban Smoking bans, or smoke-free laws, are public policies, including criminal laws and occupational safety and health regulations, that prohibit tobacco smoking in certain spaces. The spaces most commonly affected by smoking bans are indoor work ...

in public places, including restaurants and bars. Three states imposed similar bans in 2007 and the remaining five states will follow later in the year. * 1 January - A telecommunications data retention law came into force, requiring German telecommunications services and Internet providers to store telephone and Internet data for up to six months. * 3 January - Arrest warrants are issued for Brigitte Mohnhaupt and Knut Folkerts, two members of the left-wing terrorist group Red Army Faction in relation to the 1977 assassination of federal prosecutor Siegfried Buback. * 15 January - The federal government announces that the

government budget A government budget is a document prepared by the government and/or other political entity presenting its anticipated tax revenues (Inheritance tax, income tax, corporation tax, import taxes) and proposed spending/expenditure (Healthcare, Educa ...

for 2007 has been balanced and government debt has not increased — for the first time since 1969. * 15 January - Mobile phone manufacturer Nokia announces the closure of its factory in

Bochum Bochum ( , also , ; wep, Baukem) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia. With a population of 364,920 (2016), is the sixth largest city (after Cologne, Düsseldorf, Dortmund, Essen and Duisburg) of the most populous Germany, German federal state o ...

, North Rhine-Westphalia, scrapping its 2300-strong workforce. Nokia, having received approximately 88 million euros in subsidies from the German and NRW governments for the Bochum facility, plans to relocate to Romania where the labour costs are cheaper and millions in EU subsidies are available. * 21 January - Black Monday - The DAX falls 523.98 points (-7.16%), the biggest fall since 2001-09-11. * 27 January - State election in Lower Saxony - The ruling CDU/ FDP coalition under Christian Wulff is returned to office, although with a reduced majority. The Left receive 7.1% of the vote and enter the Lower Saxon parliament for the first time. * 27 January - State election in Hesse - The ruling CDU/ FDP coalition under Roland Koch loses its majority in the Hessian parliament, with the CDU losing 12% in comparison to the previous election in 2003. The preferred opposition coalition of SPD and

Greens Greens may refer to: *Leaf vegetables such as collard greens, mustard greens, spring greens, winter greens, spinach, etc. Politics Supranational * Green politics * Green party, political parties adhering to Green politics * Global Greens * Europ ...

under

Andrea Ypsilanti Andrea Ypsilanti (' Dill; born 8 April 1957) is a German politician. Political career Ypsilanti was a member of the Hesse, Hessian ''Landtag'' (parliament) and served as chairperson of the Social Democratic Party of Germany, Social Democratic ...

also fails to reach a majority. Coalition negotiations begin. The Left receive 5.1% of the vote and narrowly cross the 5%-threshold required to enter the Hessian parliament for the first time. * 3 February - Nine Turkish residents die in house fire in

Ludwigshafen Ludwigshafen, officially Ludwigshafen am Rhein (; meaning " Ludwig's Port upon Rhine"), is a city in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, on the river Rhine, opposite Mannheim. With Mannheim, Heidelberg, and the surrounding region, it form ...

, leading to concern within the Turkish community. * 14 February - The home and office of Klaus Zumwinkel, CEO of Deutsche Post, is searched by police investigating tax evasion. Zumwinkel resigns on the following day. The raid on Zumwinkel is the first after it became known to the government that billions of euros have been diverted into a bank in Liechtenstein by around 900 wealthy Germans. * 14 February - The Wallraf-Richartz Museum in Cologne announces that they recently discovered that the Monet painting ''On the Banks of the Seine by Port Villez'', which has been in the museum's possession since 1954, is a forgery. * 24 February - State election in Hamburg * 2 March - Local elections in Bavaria. * 6 March - Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008 * 27 March - Plans scraps to build the Transrapid high-speed monorail link between the Bavarian capital Munich and its airport because of a massive overrun in costs. * 19–30 May - 9th UN Convention on Biological Diversity in Bonn * 25 May - Local elections in Schleswig-Holstein * 25 June - German Defense Minister Franz Josef Jung ''(pictured)'' announces a troop increase of the country's contingent in Afghanistan to 4,500, yet refuses to move the soldiers to areas where they would be more likely to be involved in direct combat
(NYT)
- 2008-06-25 * 8 August - Warrior and Peter One, a hip hop group from Hannover, form their own record label. * 31 August -

Dresdner Bank Dresdner Bank AG was a German bank and was based in Frankfurt. It was one of Germany's largest banking corporations and was acquired by competitor Commerzbank in May 2009. History 19th century The Dresdner Bank was established on 12 Novemb ...

was paid for 9.8 Milliarden Euro to

Commerzbank Commerzbank AG () is a major German bank operating as a universal bank, headquartered in Frankfurt am Main. In the 2019 financial year, the bank was the second largest in Germany by the total value of its balance sheet. Founded in 1870 in Hambur ...

* 1 September - Since 1 September 2008 foreigners which wish to gain German nationality have to answer a test with 33 questions in German
Sueddeutsche
- 2008-09-01 * September 22–28 – photokina in Cologne * 26 September - The German Bundestag decided that from 2013 German parents will have the right to send their children to a Kindergarten or Pre-school playgroup from the age of one year. The States of Germany have to build enough Kindergarten/Pre-school playgroups to meet this requirement ( Work-life balance)
n-tv
- 2008-09-26 * 28 September - State election in Bavaria: The

CSU CSU may refer to: * Channel service unit, a Wide area network equivalent of a network interface card * Chari Aviation Services, Chad, by ICAO airline code * Christian Social Union (UK), an Anglican social gospel organisation * Christian Social Un ...

lost its majority after 46 years in Landtag
n-tv
- 2008-09-28 * October - The Volkswagen Golf Mk6 is launched at the

2008 Paris Motor Show The 2008 Paris Motor Show took place from 4 October to 19 October 2008, in Paris expo Porte de Versailles. This edition of the Paris Motor Show featured a high number of hybrid and electric vehicles (EVs), that led a blogger with ''The New York Ti ...

. * Date unknown: ** KRASS non-profit organization is founded. **The German company Schaeffler Group buys the much larger German company

Continental AG Continental AG, commonly known as Continental or colloquially as Conti, is a German multinational automotive parts manufacturing company specializing in tires, brake systems, interior electronics, automotive safety, powertrain and chassis compo ...

Popular culture

Arts & literature

* July - Loveparade in

Dortmund Dortmund (; Westphalian nds, Düörpm ; la, Tremonia) is the third-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne and Düsseldorf, and the eighth-largest city of Germany, with a population of 588,250 inhabitants as of 2021. It is the la ...

* 25–27 July -

Force Attack In physics, a force is an influence that can change the motion of an object. A force can cause an object with mass to change its velocity (e.g. moving from a state of rest), i.e., to accelerate. Force can also be described intuitively as a p ...

music festival in Behnkenhagen, near Rostock * 27 July and 9 August - Klassik Open Air in Nuremberg * 31 July - 2 August - Wacken Open Air in Wacken * 6–8 June -

Rock am Ring The (German for "Rock at the Ring") and ("Rock in the Park") festivals are two simultaneous rock music festivals held annually. While ''Rock am Ring'' takes place at the Nürburgring race track, ''Rock im Park'' takes place at the Zeppelinfeld ...

Music festival at the

Nürburgring The is a 150,000 person capacity motorsports complex located in the town of Nürburg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It features a Formula One, Grand Prix race track built in 1984, and a long "North loop" track, built in the 1920s, around t ...

* 20 September - 5 October - 175th Oktoberfest in Munich

Film

* 7–17 February -

58th Berlin International Film Festival The 58th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from February 7 to February 17, 2008. The festival opened with Martin Scorsese's documentary film '' Shine a Light''. ''Be Kind Rewind'' by Michel Gondry served as the closing film. Gre ...

* 31 March - Premiere of The Red Baron (film) in Berlin.

Television

Sport

* 17–27 January -

2008 European Men's Handball Championship The 2008 EHF European Men's Handball Championship (8th tournament) was held in Norway from 17 to 27 January, in the cities of Bergen, Drammen, Lillehammer, Stavanger and Trondheim. Denmark men's national handball team, Denmark won the tournament ...

in Norway - world champions Germany finish fourth. * 7–9 March -

2008 IAAF World Indoor Championships The 2008 IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics were held at the Luis Puig Palace in Valencia, Spain, March 7–9, 2008. Bid Valencia was announced the winning bidder by the IAAF on November 13, 2005 at an IAAF Council meeting in Moscow, R ...

in Valencia, Spain * 13–24 March -

2008 European Aquatics Championships The 2008 LEN European Aquatics Championships were held in Eindhoven, Netherlands, from 13–24 March 2008. They were the European championships for swimming (50 m), diving and synchronised swimming for 2008. Two new events were contested: ...

Eindhoven Eindhoven () is a city and municipality in the Netherlands, located in the southern province of North Brabant of which it is its largest. With a population of 238,326 on 1 January 2022,2008 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships The 2008 Men's Ice Hockey World Championships was the 72nd such event hosted by the International Ice Hockey Federation. Teams representing 48 countries participated in four levels of competition. The competition also served as qualification for ...

in Canada * April - 2008 World Fencing Championships in Beijing, PR China * 7–29 June - UEFA Euro 2008 in Austria and Switzerland * 16–21 June - Special Olympics National Games in Karlsruhe * 20 July - German Grand Prix at the

Hockenheimring The Hockenheimring Baden-Württemberg () is a motor racing circuit situated in the Rhine valley near the town of Hockenheim in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, located on the Bertha Benz Memorial Route. Amongst other motor racing events, it has hos ...

* 8–24 August -

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

in Beijing, PR China. ''See

Germany at the 2008 Summer Olympics Germany competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, People's Republic of China. A total of 439 athletes were nominated to participate in the Games. The German Olympic Sports Confederation (german: Deutscher Olympischer Sportbund, ''DOS ...

'' * 6–17 September -

2008 Summer Paralympics The 2008 Summer Paralympic Games (), the 13th Summer Paralympic Games, took place in Beijing, China from September 6 to 17, 2008. As with the 2008 Summer Olympics, equestrian events were held in Hong Kong and sailing events in Qingdao. It was ...

in Beijing, PR China * 12–25 November -

38th Chess Olympiad The 38th Chess Olympiad (german: Die 38. Schacholympiade), organized by FIDE and comprising an open and a women's tournament, as well as several other events designed to promote the game of chess, took place from 12 to 25 November 2008 in Dresden, ...

in Dresden. * 2–14 December -

2008 European Women's Handball Championship The 2008 EHF European Women's Handball Championship was held in the Republic of Macedonia from 2–14 December, it was won by Norway after beating Spain 34–21 in the final match. Venues Two Macedonian cities have been selected as hosts for th ...

Macedonia Macedonia most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a traditional geographic reg ...

Births

* Heidi, Opossum

Deaths

* 2 January -

Günter Schubert Günter Schubert (18 April 1938 – 2 January 2008) was a German actor and voice actor. His son Alexander Schubert is also an actor. He was born in Weißwasser and died in Berlin. Filmography * 1966: '' Die Söhne der großen Bärin'' * 1972: ...

, German actor (born

1938 Events January * January 1 ** The Constitution of Estonia#Third Constitution (de facto 1938–1940, de jure 1938–1992), new constitution of Estonia enters into force, which many consider to be the ending of the Era of Silence and the a ...

) * 3 January - Werner Dollinger, German former federal minister, co-founder of the

(born

) * 7 January - Detlef Kraus, German pianist (born

1919 Events January * January 1 ** The Czechoslovak Legions occupy much of the self-proclaimed "free city" of Pressburg (now Bratislava), enforcing its incorporation into the new republic of Czechoslovakia. ** HMY ''Iolaire'' sinks off the c ...

) * 6 February - Dieter Noll, German writer (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 * ...

) * 25 February - Johann-Henrich Krummacher, German politician and clergyman (born

1947 It was the first year of the Cold War, which would last until 1991, ending with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Events January * January–February – Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom: The worst snowfall in the country in ...

) * 27 February - Ivan Rebroff, German singer (born

1931 Events January * January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics. * January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa. * January 22 – Sir I ...

) * 3 March -

Annemarie Renger Annemarie Renger (née Wildung), (7 October 1919 in Leipzig – 3 March 2008 in Remagen-Oberwinter), was a German politician for the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). From 1972 until 1976 she served as the 5th President of the Bundestag ...

, German politician (born

) * 5 March - Joseph Weizenbaum, German computer scientist (born

1923 Events January–February * January 9 – Lithuania begins the Klaipėda Revolt to annex the Klaipėda Region (Memel Territory). * January 11 – Despite strong British protests, troops from France and Belgium occupy the Ruhr area, t ...

) * 11 March -

Hans A. Engelhard Hans Arnold Engelhard (16 September 1934 – 11 March 2008) was a German jurist. A member of the Free Democratic Party (FDP), he served as German Federal Minister of Justice in the Cabinet Kohl I, II, and III, between 1982 and 1991. Born i ...

, German jurist and politician (born

1934 Events January–February * January 1 – The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established. * January 15 – The 8.0 1934 Nepal–Bihar earthquake, Nepal–Bihar earthquake strik ...

) * 21 March - Klaus Dinger, German musician (born

1946 Events January * January 6 - The 1946 North Vietnamese parliamentary election, first general election ever in Vietnam is held. * January 7 – The Allies recognize the Austrian republic with its 1937 borders, and divide the country into f ...

) * 12 April — Dieter Eppler, German television actor (born

) * 1 May - Philipp von Boeselager, German resistance fighter (born

1917 Events Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix. January * January 9 – WWI – Battle of Rafa: The last substantial Ottoman Army garrison on the Sinai Peninsula is captured by the Egyptian Expeditionary Force's ...

) * 8 June - Peter Rühmkorf, German writer (born

1929 This year marked the end of a period known in American history as the Roaring Twenties after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 ushered in a worldwide Great Depression. In the Americas, an agreement was brokered to end the Cristero War, a Catholic ...

) * 5 August - Eva Pflug, German actress (born

) * 15 August —

Heinz-Ludwig Schmidt Heinz-Ludwig Schmidt (2 March 1920 – 15 August 2008) was a German football manager. Schmidt coached SC Tasmania 1900 Berlin during the 1965–66 Bundesliga The 1965–66 Bundesliga was the third season of the Bundesliga, West Germany's pre ...

, German footballer and manager (born

1920 Events January * January 1 ** Polish–Soviet War in 1920: The Russian Red Army increases its troops along the Polish border from 4 divisions to 20. ** Kauniainen, completely surrounded by the city of Espoo, secedes from Espoo as its own ma ...

) *8 September – Ruxandra Sireteanu, Romania-born neuroscientist (born

1945 1945 marked the end of World War II and the fall of Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan. It is also the only year in which nuclear weapons have been used in combat. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. Januar ...

). * 22 September -

Thomas Doerflein Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the Ap ...

, German zookeeper (born

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cov ...

) * 1 October -

Detlef Lewe Detlef Lewe (20 June 1939, Dortmund – 1 October 2008)1938 Events January * January 1 ** The Constitution of Estonia#Third Constitution (de facto 1938–1940, de jure 1938–1992), new constitution of Estonia enters into force, which many consider to be the ending of the Era of Silence and the a ...

) * 13 December - Horst Tappert, German actor (born

)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2008 In Germany Years of the 21st century in Germany Germany