Angelica Domröse, the German actress known for Love's Confusion, The Adventures of Werner Holt and The Legend of Paul and Paula, died on May 15, 2026, at the age of 85. Born in Berlin on April 4, 1941, she was…
Timmy, a humpback whale also known as Hope, died on May 14, 2026, when his body was discovered near the Danish island of Anholt. He had strayed into the Baltic Sea in March 2026 and was stranded several times along…
Albrecht Weinberg died on May 12, 2026.
Rainer Nitschke, a German radio and television presenter, died on May 10, 2026. No cause of death was stated in the available information.
Günther Maria Halmer, a German actor, died on May 10, 2026, at the age of 83, according to reports that said he died of cancer. Born in Rosenheim, Germany, on January 5, 1943, he was known for his work in…
Harald Mothes, a German footballer, died on May 9, 2026, at the age of 69. He played as a forward or midfielder and made more than 300 appearances for Erzgebirge Aue in the DDR-Oberliga. Mothes also won one cap for…
Günter Jena, a German choral conductor and musicologist, died on May 8, 2026, at the age of 92–93. Born in Leipzig in 1933, he attended the Thomasschule there before studying musicology, psychology and philosophy in Berlin, and conducting and organ…
Karl-Heinz Ripkens, the German footballer who played for FC Köln and Bayer Leverkusen, died on May 8, 2026, aged 88. A forward, he began his career at 1. FC Köln, where he won two championships, before moving to Standard Liège…
Manuela Hoelterhoff, a German-born American cultural journalist who was executive editor of Muse, the arts and culture section of Bloomberg News, died on May 6, 2026, of cancer. She was 77. Hoelterhoff won the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism in 1983.…
Henk Beckers, Dutch politician and senator from 2011 to 2015, died on May 4, 2026. Born Henricus Gerardus Josephus Maria Beckers on May 30, 1944, in Mheer, in the German-occupied Netherlands, he was a member of the People's Party for…
Hans-Wilhelm Pesch, a German politician and member of the Bundestag from 1983 to 1998, died on May 1, 2026, at the age of 88. Born on June 19, 1937, in Rheydt, Germany, he was a member of the Christian Democratic…
Karl-Heinz Mühe, a German politician and former member of the Landtag of Lower Saxony, died on May 1, 2026, at the age of 77. A member of the Social Democratic Party, he served in the Landtag from 1986 to 2003.…
Georg Baselitz, German painter and sculptor, died on April 30, 2026, at the age of 88. Born Hans-Georg Kern in Deutschbaselitz, Germany, on January 23, 1938, he was also a graphic artist. He became known in the 1960s for figurative,…
Volker Hage, the German journalist, author and literary critic who worked for Der Spiegel, died on April 29, 2026, at the age of 76. Born in Hamburg in 1949, he began his career in 1975 as an editor in the…
Peter Gülke, the German conductor and musicologist, died on April 26, 2026, at the age of 91. Born in Weimar on April 29, 1934, he studied cello and musicology at the Hochschule für Musik Franz Liszt in Weimar. He completed…
Jean-Yves Hugon, French politician and deputy from 2002 to 2007, died on April 24, 2026, at the age of 76. Born in Aurillac on May 16, 1949, he worked first as a German teacher before entering politics in 2001. That…
Erich Arndt, a German table tennis player, died on April 24, 2026, at the age of 87. He was an international table tennis player from Germany and won a bronze medal at the 1963 World Table Tennis Championships in the…
Manfred Kreuz, a German footballer, died on April 22, 2026, at the age of 90. Born on 7 March 1936, he spent his entire career with Schalke 04. From 1956 to 1963, he played 135 matches and scored 42 goals…
Manfred Böckl, a German writer, died on April 20, 2026, at the age of 77. Born in Landau an der Isar, Bavaria, on September 2, 1948, he wrote historical fiction and, from the 1980s, novels often set in Bavaria and…
Gerhard Schmidt-Gaden, German conductor and founder of the Tölzer Knabenchor, died on April 19, 2026, at the age of 88. Born in Karlovy Vary, Czechoslovakia, on June 19, 1937, he was also an academic teacher. Schmidt-Gaden studied conducting with Kurt…
Ivan Rebernik, a Slovenian diplomat and librarian, died on April 16, 2026, at the age of 86. He served as Slovenia’s ambassador to the Vatican and as Chancellor of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre. Born in Maribor on October…
Mark Mobius, the American-born German businessman and emerging markets fund manager, died on April 15, 2026, at age 89. Born Joseph Bernhard Mark Mobius in Hempstead, New York, he founded Mobius Capital Partners LLP and spent more than three decades…
Wolfgang Zuckschwerdt, a German judoka, died on April 14, 2026, at the age of 76. Born on May 5, 1949, he competed for the SG Dynamo Brandenburg and Sportvereinigung (SV) Dynamo. He won medals at international competitions.
Hans-Jürgen Becher, a German footballer who played for Schalke 04, died on April 13, 2026, at the age of 84. A defender, he made 32 appearances in the Oberliga West and 201 appearances in the Bundesliga for Schalke 04.
Roger Prinzen, a German football manager and former player, died on April 13, 2026, at the age of 57. He was head coach of Balzers and served as assistant coach at Vaduz in Liechtenstein. Prinzen was also the regular U–23…
Ursula Donath, a German runner and Olympic bronze medalist, died on April 12, 2026. She was 94. Born Ursula Jurewitz in Saldus, Latvia, she competed in the 400 metres and 800 metres as an athlete from East Germany. Her biggest…
Leo Nowak, the German Roman Catholic prelate who served as apostolic administrator of Magdeburg from 1990 to 1994 and as bishop from 1994 to 2004, died on April 12, 2026, in Magdeburg, Germany, at the age of 97, following complications… · Complications After Surgery · 12 April 2026 · April 2026
Reinhold Wittig died on April 11, 2026. He was a German board game designer and geologist. His work spanned both fields, reflecting a career that combined science and game design. · 11 April 2026 · April 2026
Rudi Schmitt, a German politician and former teacher, died on April 10, 2026, at the age of 98. Born in Frankfurt on January 8, 1928, he was a member of the Social Democratic Party and served in the Landtag of…
Ari Ben-Menahem, a German-born Israeli mathematician and geophysicist, died on April 9, 2026. He was 97. Born in Berlin on November 4, 1928, he was a professor of mathematics and geophysics at the Weizmann Institute of Science from 1964 and… · 09 April 2026 · April 2026
Mario Adorf, the German actor and writer known for Major Dundee, Short Night of Glass Dolls and Fedora, died on April 8, 2026, at age 95. Born in Zürich, Switzerland, in 1930, he was active from 1954 to 2026 and… · 08 April 2026 · April 2026
Leïla Marouane, a Tunisian-born French creative writer and journalist who wrote for El Watan and Jeune Afrique, died on April 8, 2026. She was 65. Born Leyla Zineb Mechentel in 1960 in Djerba, Tunisia, Marouane worked as a journalist for…
Gerd Winner, a German painter and sculptor, died on April 8, 2026, at the age of 89. Born in Braunschweig in 1936, he graduated from the Berlin University of the Arts. He was known for large-format public artworks and often…
Konrad Carl, a German trade unionist and former president of the Building and Construction Union, died on April 6, 2026, at the age of 96. Born in Fürth on January 20, 1930, he completed an apprenticeship as a carpenter and… · 06 April 2026 · April 2026
Christian Schwarz-Schilling, Austrian-born German politician and former minister of post and telecommunications and High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina, died on April 6, 2026. He was 95. Schwarz-Schilling served as minister of post and telecommunications from 1982 to 1992 and… · 06 April 2026 · April 2026
Eberhard Riedel died on April 5, 2026. He was a German Olympic alpine skier who competed in the 1960, 1964, and 1968 Winter Games. His career included appearances across three Olympics, marking him as a long-serving figure in the sport. · 05 April 2026 · April 2026
Lawrence J. Ryan, an Australian-born scholar of German literature, died on April 5, 2026, at age 93 in Tübingen, Germany. Born in Sydney on December 20, 1932, he earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Sydney in 1953 and…
Horst Schmid, a German-born Canadian politician and international trade businessman, died on April 4, 2026. He was 92. Born in Munich, Germany, on April 29, 1933, Schmid emigrated to Canada and worked as a miner in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, in… · 04 April 2026 · April 2026
Thomas Zipp, a German artist, died on April 3, 2026. · 03 April 2026 · April 2026
Peter Neumeyer, a German-American academic, literary scholar, poet, and educator, died on April 2, 2026. He was 96. Born in Munich, Germany, on August 4, 1929, he emigrated to the United States with his family in 1936. Neumeyer earned degrees… · 02 April 2026 · April 2026
Birgit Collin-Langen, a German politician and Member of the European Parliament from 2012 to 2019, died on April 1, 2026, at the age of 69. Born in Trier, Rhineland-Palatinate, West Germany, on September 4, 1956, she was a member of… · 01 April 2026 · April 2026
Hans-Jürgen Kreische, a German football player and manager best known for his long association with Dynamo Dresden and the East Germany national team, died on March 30, 2026. He spent his entire career with Dynamo Dresden, scoring 127 goals in… · 30 March 2026 · March 2026
Karsten Wettberg, a German football manager, died on March 28, 2026. Born in Friesack, near Berlin, on November 10, 1941, he was one of the most successful football managers in German amateur football. On the professional level, he coached SpVgg… · 28 March 2026 · March 2026
Alexander Kluge, the German author, film director, academic and founder of a television production company, died on March 25, 2026, at the age of 94. Born in Halberstadt in 1932, he studied with Theodor W. Adorno in Frankfurt and later… · 25 March 2026 · March 2026
François Morlaes, a French rugby union player who played as a scrum-half, died on March 23, 2026. Born in Pau, German-occupied France, on October 6, 1943, he won the 1968–69 French Rugby Union Championship with CA Bègles. Morlaes died in… · 23 March 2026 · March 2026
Carsten Träger, a German politician and member of the Bundestag since 2013, died on March 21, 2026, aged 52. A member of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), he represented Bavaria in the Bundestag from 2013 until his death. Träger was… · 21 March 2026 · March 2026
James N. Hardin Jr., an American Germanist, died on March 16, 2026, at age 87. Born in Nashville, Tennessee, on February 17, 1939, he earned a BA in German from Washington and Lee University in 1960. He received a Fulbright… · 16 March 2026 · March 2026
Bettina Köster, a German singer, musician and composer, died on March 16, 2026. Born on June 15, 1959, in Herford, North Rhine-Westphalia, West Germany, she was also a saxophonist, songwriter and record producer. Köster was active from 1979 to 2026… · 16 March 2026 · March 2026
Egidio Marzona, an Italian art collector, gallerist and publisher, died on March 15, 2026, in Berlin, Germany, at the age of 81. Born in Bielefeld, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, on October 3, 1944, he was a German-Italian art collector who gathered… · 15 March 2026 · March 2026
Jürgen Habermas, the German philosopher and sociologist, died on March 14, 2026, at age 96. Born in Düsseldorf in 1929, he was a German philosopher and social theorist associated with critical theory and pragmatism. His work addressed communicative rationality and… · 14 March 2026 · March 2026
Jochen Bachfeld, a German boxer and East German Olympic champion, died on March 14, 2026, at the age of 73. Born in Sülte, East Germany, on December 17, 1952, he represented his native country at the 1976 Summer Olympics in… · 14 March 2026 · March 2026
Jens Blauert, a German scientist known for his work in psychoacoustics, died on March 13, 2026. He was an emeritus professor at the Ruhr-Universität Bochum, where he founded the Institute of Communication Acoustics. Blauert’s major fields of interest included spatial… · 13 March 2026 · March 2026
Rennie Fritchie, Baroness Fritchie, a British life peer and member of the House of Lords from 2005 to 2024, died on March 12, 2026. Born Irene Tordoff Fennell on April 29, 1942, in Fife, Scotland, she was educated at Ribston… · Germany · 12 March 2026 · March 2026
Joachim Wanke, a German Roman Catholic prelate, died on March 12, 2026. He was 84. Wanke served as the first bishop of the Diocese of Erfurt after its re-establishment following German reunification, leading the diocese from 1994 until his retirement… · 12 March 2026 · March 2026 · Other
Rolf Birkhölzer, a German professional footballer and goalkeeper, died on March 12, 2026. Born on 29 September 1949, he began playing football at the age of nineteen with 1. FC Köln. He also played for KSV Hessen Kassel, VfB Gießen… · 12 March 2026 · March 2026
Hans-Georg Backhaus, a German Marxian economist and philosopher, died on March 12, 2026, in Frankfurt. He was 96 or 97. Backhaus was one of the main authors of the Neue Marx-Lektüre and is considered one of the most important German… · 12 March 2026 · March 2026
Hermann Kulke, a German historian and Indologist, died on March 10, 2026. He was 87. Kulke was professor of South and Southeast Asian history at Kiel University from 1988 to 2003. After earning his PhD in Indology from Freiburg University… · 10 March 2026 · March 2026
Klaus Kribben, a German politician and lawyer who served in the Landtag of Schleswig-Holstein from 1975 to 1996, died on March 9, 2026, at the age of 88. A member of the Christian Democratic Union, he was born in Cologne… · 09 March 2026 · March 2026
Ingrid Schmithüsen, the German operatic soprano who specialized in concert music and Lied recitals, died on March 6, 2026, aged 66. Born in Aachen on February 18, 1960, she studied at the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln with Gregory… · 06 March 2026 · March 2026
Hans-Christoph Wagner, a German-born Dutch politician and communications manager, died on March 6, 2026, at the age of 62. A member of the Labour Party, he served in the House of Representatives from May to November 2006. Wagner was born… · 06 March 2026 · March 2026
Peter Schneider, the German writer, died on March 4, 2026. Born in Lübeck on April 21, 1940, he was the son of a conductor and composer. He spent his early childhood in Königsberg and Saxony, lived in Grainau near Garmisch-Partenkirchen… · 04 March 2026 · March 2026
Georg Koch, a German professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper, died on March 4, 2026. Born in Bergisch Gladbach, he began his career at amateur club SpVgg Erkenschwick before moving to Fortuna Düsseldorf in January 1992. He was initially… · 04 March 2026 · March 2026
Gustav Gunsenheimer, a German composer and director of church music, died on March 3, 2026, at the age of 91. He composed mostly sacred music and chamber music, including the Evangelienmotette "Die Versuchung Jesu." First an elementary school teacher, he… · 03 March 2026 · March 2026
Tim Gerresheim, the German fencer and Olympic bronze medalist, died on March 3, 2026, at the age of 87. Born in Berlin on February 24, 1939, he represented the United Team of Germany at the 1960 and 1964 Summer Olympics… · 03 March 2026 · March 2026
Klaus Müller, a German Marxian economist and academic, died on March 2, 2026. Born on August 10, 1944, in Ursprung, now part of Lugau in Saxony, he studied financial and international economics at the Hochschule für Ökonomie Berlin. In 1973,… · 02 March 2026 · March 2026 · Muller
Fredric Kroll, an American-German composer and writer, died on March 2, 2026. Born Fredric Joseph Kroll on February 7, 1945, in Brooklyn, New York, he was the only child of Alexander Kroll and Sarah Kroll. Kroll began composing at age… · 02 March 2026 · March 2026
Käthe Menzel-Jordan, a German architect and preservationist, died on March 1, 2026. Born Käthe Hertel in Erfurt on September 7, 1916, she worked mainly on restoring historic buildings in Erfurt and the surrounding region after the destruction of World War… · 01 March 2026 · March 2026 · Other
Atelier Kempe Thill, the Rotterdam-based Dutch architectural firm founded in 2000 by German architects André Kempe and Oliver Thill, died on March 1, 2026. Both founders were born in East Germany and graduated in architecture from the Technical University of… · 01 March 2026 · March 2026
Gerhard A. Meinl, a German businessman and politician, died on March 1, 2026. Born Gerhard Anton Meinl on September 5, 1957, in Kempfenhausen, Upper Bavaria, he lived in Geretsried from childhood and later studied law and philosophy in Munich and… · 01 March 2026 · March 2026
Tatjana Wood, a German-born American comic book colorist and artist, died on February 27, 2026. Born Tatjana Amalie Weintraub in Darmstadt, Hesse, Germany, on March 2, 1926, she worked in comics and was known for her color work on Camelot… · 27 February 2026 · February 2026
Hans-Georg Fritz, a German politician and trade unionist, died on February 26, 2026, at the age of 93. A member of the Social Democratic Party, he served in the Landtag of Hesse from 1973 to 1974. He was born in… · 26 February 2026 · February 2026
Horst Schnoor, the German football goalkeeper who played for Hamburger SV, died on February 25, 2026. Born in Hamburg on April 11, 1934, he was Hamburger SV's first-choice goalkeeper for much of the period from 1952 to 1967 and made… · 25 February 2026 · February 2026
Hans-Georg Reimann, the German race walker who won two Olympic medals in 20-kilometre racewalking, died on February 25, 2026. He competed for SC Dynamo Berlin and the GDR, taking bronze at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich and silver at… · 25 February 2026 · February 2026 · Other
Hans-Dieter Sues, a German-born American paleontologist and Senior Research Geologist and Curator of Vertebrate Paleontology at the National Museum of Natural History of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC, died on February 22, 2026, at age 70. He was born… · 22 February 2026 · February 2026
Walter Pawelkiewicz, a German-born American politician who served in the Connecticut House of Representatives from the 49th district from 1999 to 2009, died on February 21, 2026, at the age of 77. Born Vladyslaw Marion on February 8, 1949, in… · 21 February 2026 · February 2026 · Cancer
Sepp Piontek, the German footballer and manager best known for coaching the Denmark national team, died on February 19, 2026. Born Josef Emanuel Hubertus Piontek on March 5, 1940, in Breslau, he played as a full-back for Werder Bremen between… · 19 February 2026 · February 2026
Reinhold Wosab, a German professional footballer, died on February 18, 2026. Born on February 25, 1938, he spent ten seasons in the Bundesliga with Borussia Dortmund and VfL Bochum. In the 1965–66 Bundesliga season, he scored both goals in Borussia… · 18 February 2026 · February 2026
Margot Queitsch, a German politician, died on February 18, 2026, at the age of 79. A member of the Social Democratic Party, she served in the Landtag of Baden-Württemberg from 2001 to 2011. Queitsch was born in Lindau, Bavaria, on… · 18 February 2026 · February 2026
Joachim Kempin, a German-born American businessman and former senior vice president of Microsoft, died on February 17, 2026. He ran Microsoft’s division selling operating software to PC manufacturers for 15 years and later wrote Resolve and Fortitude: Microsoft’s "Secret Power… · 17 February 2026 · February 2026
Wolfram Saenger, a German biochemist, crystallographer and academic, died on February 16, 2026, at the age of 86. He was known for his pioneering contributions to nucleic acid crystallography and structural biology over a scientific career spanning more than four… · 16 February 2026 · February 2026
Henrike Naumann, a German installation artist, died on February 14, 2026, at the age of 41. Born in Zwickau, East Germany, in 1984, she became known for her furniture installations, often made from wall units from the 1990s. Her work… · 14 February 2026 · February 2026
Horst Helle, a German sociologist and academic, died on February 13, 2026. He was Professor Emeritus at LMU Munich in Germany. Born on July 19, 1934, Helle received a business degree from the University of Hamburg, earned an MBA from… · 13 February 2026 · February 2026
Lambert Hamel, a German actor, died on February 13, 2026, at age 85. Best known for his stage work, he also appeared in film, television, musicals, and as a dubbing actor. Trained at the Schauspielschule Bochum, he was often cast… · 13 February 2026 · February 2026
Helmuth Rilling, the German choral conductor and academic teacher who was internationally known as an authority on the music of Johann Sebastian Bach, died on February 11, 2026. Born in Stuttgart on May 29, 1933, he founded the Gächinger Kantorei… · 11 February 2026 · February 2026
Christoph Luitpold Frommel, a German art historian, died on February 11, 2026, at the age of 92. Born in Heidelberg on September 25, 1933, he studied at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich and the University of Bonn before serving… · 11 February 2026 · February 2026
Peter Meyer, a German footballer who played as a striker, died on February 11, 2026. Born on 18 February 1940, he spent eight seasons in the Bundesliga with Fortuna Düsseldorf and Borussia Mönchengladbach. He also made one appearance for Germany,… · 11 February 2026 · February 2026
Peter Meyer died on February 11, 2026. He was a German footballer associated with Fortuna Düsseldorf. His death was announced without additional details. · 11 February 2026 · February 2026
Herbert Sukopp, a German ecologist and academic, died on February 7, 2026. Born in Berlin on November 6, 1930, he earned his doctorate from the Free University of Berlin in 1958 under Erich Werdermann and completed his habilitation in botany… · 07 February 2026 · February 2026
Lloyd Monsen, an American soccer player, died on February 5, 2026. A forward and baseball pitcher, he spent eleven seasons in the American Soccer League and also played in the German American Soccer League and National Soccer League of New… · 05 February 2026 · February 2026
Michael Opitz, a German footballer who played as a defensive midfielder for Schalke 04, died on February 5, 2026. He made 158 Bundesliga appearances and 66 appearances in the 2. Bundesliga for the club. Opitz was 63. · 05 February 2026 · February 2026
Marlies Krämer, a German feminist activist and politician, died on February 4, 2026, at the age of 88. Born in Illingen in 1937, she began an apprenticeship in retailing after World War II, married in 1958 and had four children.… · 04 February 2026 · February 2026 · Kramer
Gisela Engeln-Müllges, a German mathematician and professor of numerical mathematics at the Aachen University of Applied Sciences, died on February 4, 2026. Born in Leipzig in 1940, she studied mathematics at RWTH Aachen University beginning in 1961 after escaping to… · 04 February 2026 · February 2026
Horst Gallert, a German politician, died on February 2, 2026, at the age of 88. A member of the Christian Democratic Union, he served in the Landtag of Saxony from 1990 to 1994. Born on July 23, 1937, in Bautzen,… · 02 February 2026 · February 2026
Rita Süssmuth, a German politician and former president of the Bundestag, died on February 1, 2026, at age 88. A member of the Christian Democratic Union, she served as Federal Minister for Youth, Family and Health from 1985 to 1988,… · 01 February 2026 · February 2026
Wolfgang Pfeifer died on January 30, 2026. He was a German footballer who played for Einheit Dresden, Dynamo Dresden and the East Germany national team. · 30 January 2026 · January 2026
Christa Lang, the German-American actress and screenwriter known for films including What’s Up, Doc?, Alphaville and The Big Red One, died on January 30, 2026, at age 82. Born in Winterberg on December 23, 1943, she moved to France at… · 30 January 2026 · January 2026
German Hall of Fame professional Magic: The Gathering player · 29 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 29