Klaus Wissel

Klaus Wissel (born August 3, 1924 in Havelberg ; † November 7, 1957 with Suakin ) was a German underwater photographer and filmmaker and participant in the second Xarifa expedition by Hans Hass . He was a son of the sculptor Hans Wissel .

Life

In 1951, Klaus Wissel and Otto von Frisch founded the Working Group for Underwater Research (AFU) in Munich , similar to what Rupert Riedl had initiated a few years earlier at the University of Vienna. Wissel and von Frisch studied zoology at the University of Munich. In contrast to von Frisch, Wissel did not complete his studies for financial reasons, but turned to scuba diving and underwater photography shortly before completing his doctorate . He soon worked full-time as a journalist, underwater photographer and filmmaker and wrote articles in the magazine “Quick” and the specialist magazine “Delphin”. Two of his underwater films ("In their element" and the color film "Blaues Licht") were awarded at the German Underwater Film Festival by the Association of German Scuba Divers in 1956 in Hamburg.

At the beginning of 1957, Wissel was hired by the marine researcher Hans Hass to succeed Alfons Hochhauser in order to prepare his research vessel Xarifa for the next expedition and to equip it with all the necessary technical equipment. In the expedition, which began on October 15, 1957, Wissel took part as a diving instructor , cameraman and technician. After only three weeks of driving, Wissel died on November 7, 1957 while diving at Shaab Anbar near Suakin off the Sudanese coast. Heart failure due to a congenital heart defect was diagnosed by the ship's doctor. His body was buried at sea.

literature

• Michael Jung: Hans Hass. A lifetime of expedition. Stuttgart 1994.
• Klaus Wissel: Xarifa calls dolphin. In: Delphin, Hamburg, 4 (1957) 11, pp. 418-422.