2015 in Germany

Incumbents

President – Joachim Gauck

Chancellor – Angela Merkel

January

January 1 - The 'Mindestlohngesetz' (German Minimum Wage Law) comes into effect: Most jobs now have to receive €8.50 per hour as a minimum wage.

January 11 - An arson attack on the newspaper Hamburger Morgenpost, which published Charlie Hebdo cartoons, leads to two arrests.

January 21 - Lutz Bachmann resigns as chairman of the anti-Islamic Pegida movement. As of 9th of April, the position is still vacant.

February

February 15: Hamburg state election, 2015 in Hamburg

March

March 5 - Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015

March 24 - The crash of Germanwings Flight 9525 leads to widespread media coverage and public attention in Germany. 72 Germans die aboard the German machine that was intentionally crashed by its German co-pilot.

March – CeBIT in Hanover

March – ITB Berlin in Berlin

March – Leipzig Book Fair in Leipzig

April

April – Hanover Messe in Hanover

April – Deutscher Filmpreis in Berlin

May

May 10 - Bremen state election, 2015 in Bremen

June

June 7-8 – 41st G7 summit will be held in Schloss Elmau, Bavaria.

June – Kiel Week in Kiel

June 29 – A robot grabbed a man at a Volkswagen production plant in Baunatal and crushed him to death against a metal plate. Prosecutors considered bringing charges after the incident.

August

August – Hanse Sail in Rostock

August- September – Internationale Funkausstellung Berlin in Berlin

September

September – ILA Berlin Air Show in Berlin

September – gamescom in Cologne

September – Frankfurt Motor Show in Frankfurt

September - October – Oktoberfest in Munich

October

October – Frankfurt Book Fair in Frankfurt

December

December 31 – New Year's Eve sexual assaults in Germany

Deaths

January 1: Ulrich Beck (70), German sociologist

January 7: Diether Kressel (89), German painter

January 8: Hubert Markl (77), German biologist

January 20: Edgar Froese (71), German artist and electronic music pioneer

January 31: Udo Lattek (79), German football player, coach, and TV pundit

January 31: Richard von Weizsäcker (94), German politician

February 26: Heinrich Windelen (93), German politician

February 26: Fritz J. Raddatz (83), German feuilletonist, essayist, biographer and romancier

March 1: Chris Welp (51), German professional basketball player

March 1: Wolfram Wuttke (53), German footballer

March 9: Frei Otto (90), German architect

March 30: Helmut Dietl (70), German film director and author

March 31: Klaus Tschira (74), German entrepreneur

April 13: Günter Grass (87), German novelist and author

April 14: Klaus Bednarz (72), German journalist

May 9: Odo Marquard (86), German philosoph

May 19: Gerald Götting (91), German politician

May 27: Elisabeth Wiedemann (88), German actress

June 3: Horst Brandstätter (81), German businessman

June 4: Hermann Zapf (96), German typeface designer and calligrapher

June 4: Edith Hancke (86), German film actress

June 9: James Last (86), German composer and big band leader

June 15: Harry Rowohlt (70), German writer and translator

Jun 21: Alexander Schalck-Golodkowski (83), German politician

June 22: Gabriele Wohmann (83), German novelist

July 13: Philipp Mißfelder (35), German politician

July 14: Wolf Gremm (73), German film director and screenwriter

August 3: Johanna Quandt (89), German entrepreneur

August 11: Utta Danella (95), German author

August 15: Max Greger (89), German jazz musician

August 17: Gerhard Mayer-Vorfelder (82), Vice President of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA)

August 20: Egon Bahr (93), German politician

September 4: Max Kruse (93), German author

September 24: Ellis Kaut (94), German author of children's literature, best known for her creation of Pumuckl,

September 29: Hellmuth Karasek (81), German journalist, literary critic and novelist

November 1: Günter Schabowski (86), German official of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED)

November 5: Hans Mommsen (85), German historian

November 10: Helmut Schmidt (96), German chancellor

December 5: Wolfgang Sandner (66), German physicist

December 15: Stella Doufexis (47), German mezzo-soprano opera singer

December 19: Kurt Masur (88), German conductor