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.
• October 29 — 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 opened.

  Science

• Date unknown - German research team led by Peter Armbruster and Gottfried Münzenberg at the GSI Helmholtz Centre for Heavy Ion Research 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
• February 22 - Curtis Bernhardt, film director
• March 7 - Hilde Krahwinkel Sperling, German tennis player
• April 4 — Carl Ludwig Siegel, mathematician
• April 20 — Hans Söhnker, actor
• 9 May — Fritz Umgelter, television director, writer and film director
• May 13 - Joseph-Ernst Graf Fugger von Glött, German politician
• June 4 - Fritz Steuben, German author
• June 16 - Julius Ebbinghaus, German philosopher
• July 5 — Helmut Gröttrup, electrical engineer
• July 19 - Karl Steinhoff, German politician
• August 23 - Rolf Herricht, German actor and comedian
• September 14 - Carl de Vogt, German actor
• October 29 - Carl Joseph Leiprecht, German bishop of Roman-Catholic Church
• November 22 - Hans Adolf Krebs, German physician and biochem
• December 31 — Gunther Krappe, Wehrmacht officer