title: 1981 in Germany
text: # 1981 in Germany
  
  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)
  