Events in the year 1981 in Germany.

Incumbents President — Karl Carstens Chancellor — Helmut Schmidt

Events 13–24 February - 31st Berlin International Film Festival 28 February - Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest 1981 14 June - East German general election, 1981 1 August — Launch of the MK2 Volkswagen Polo, which makes use of a larger estate-like bodyshell, although it is still marketed as a hatchback. 23 September — Launch of the new Opel Ascona, which for the first time is available with a hatchback and front-wheel drive, as well as a new range of engines. 29 October — Raiders of the Lost Ark in movie theaters in Germany. December — The Volkswagen Polo and Opel Ascona miss out on the European Car of the Year award, which instead goes to the Renault 9 from France. Date unknown - Museum für Moderne Kunst in Frankfurt was founded, although it was not opened to the public until 1991.

Science Date unknown - German research team led by Peter Armbruster and Gottfried Münzenberg at the GSI Helmholtz Centre for Heavy Ion Research (GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung) in Darmstadt 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, hockey player February 23 — Jan Böhmermann, television presenter March 8 - Timo Boll, table tennis player March 11 - Matthias Schweighöfer, actor March 12 - Friedrich Mücke, German actor April 26 - Teresa Weißbach, German actress April 27 — Sandy Mölling, pop singer May 15 - Ben, German singer May 21 - Maximilian Mutzke, drummer and singer June 3 - Timur Tekkal, rugby player June 12 - Nora Tschirner, German actress July 21 — Stefan Schumacher, cyclist August 4 - Florian Silbereisen, singer August 18 - Jan Frodeno, triathlete August 22 - Christina Obergföll, athlete August 30 - André Niklaus, athlete September 7 - Hannah Herzsprung, actress October 2 - Ronald Rauhe, canoeist

Deaths 8 January — Mortimer von Kessel, Wehrmacht general (born 1893) February 22 - Curtis Bernhardt, film director (born 1899) March 5 – Gertraud Winkelvoss, German neo-Nazi politician (born 1917) March 7 - Hilde Krahwinkel Sperling, German tennis player (born 1908) April 4 — Carl Ludwig Siegel, mathematician (born 1896) April 20 — Hans Söhnker, actor (born 1903) May 9 — Fritz Umgelter, television director, writer and film director (born 1922) May 13 - Joseph-Ernst Graf Fugger von Glött, German politician (born 1895) May 18 - Eleonore Baur, German Nazi, only woman to participate in Munich Beer Hall Putsch (born 1885) June 4 - Fritz Steuben, German author (born 1898) June 16 - Julius Ebbinghaus, German philosopher (born 1885) July 5 — Helmut Gröttrup, electrical engineer (born 1916) July 19 - Karl Steinhoff, German politician (born 1892) August 23 - Rolf Herricht, German actor and comedian (born 1927) October 29 - Carl Joseph Leiprecht, German bishop of Roman Catholic Church (born 1903) November 22 - Hans Adolf Krebs, German physician and biochem (born 1900) December 31 — Gunther Krappe, Wehrmacht officer (born 1893)

See also 1981 in German television

References