Memorial Page for Hans Hass

Hans Hass (born 23 January 1919 in Vienna; died 16 June 2013 in Vienna) was an Austrian zoologist, marine researcher, research diver, author and underwater film-maker. He brought coral reefs, sharks, rays, octopuses and other marine life close to a broad public and developed equipment, camera housings and working methods for filming and observing under water.

From law studies to the sea

Hass initially studied law. An encounter with the American diver and writer Guy Gilpatric in 1938 changed his direction. Hass turned to zoology, travelled to the Caribbean and worked with underwater hunting, photography and biological observation. In 1943 he earned a doctorate at the University of Berlin with research that used autonomous diving equipment. From early on, scientific questions, technical solutions and film documentation belonged together in his work.

Films under water

Already in the 1940s Hass made underwater films, including Menschen unter Haien. After the war his films and books reached audiences who had scarcely seen the marine world from such a perspective. In Abenteuer im Roten Meer and later productions, he presented animals and underwater landscapes as living environments with their own forms, colours and behaviour. With sharks, he emphasized their role in the ecosystem and argued against simple images of fear.

Lotte Hass and Xarifa

From the early 1950s Hass worked closely with Lotte Hass, who dived, filmed and appeared in many productions herself. The research vessel Xarifa became the centre of several expeditions to the Pacific, the Indian Ocean, the Red Sea and the Caribbean. These journeys produced films, books and scientific observations. The BBC series Diving to Adventure brought Hans and Lotte Hass to British television audiences in 1956.

Equipment, books and television

Hass worked on equipment that made movement and camera work under water easier: fins, breathing apparatus, camera housings and methods for longer observation. His films joined nature documentary with expedition narrative, and his books translated those experiences into language and images. ORF and other sources describe an extensive body of books, television films and cinema films that grew out of his expeditions.

Later work and marine protection

In the second half of his life Hass turned to evolution, human behaviour and his energon theory. At the same time he repeatedly spoke about protecting the seas and about global environmental questions. In 1998 he received the Austrian Decoration for Science and Art; in 2009 he received the Elisabeth Mann Borgese Ocean Award for his life's work. His estate went to the Natural History Museum Vienna.

Farewell

Hans Hass died in Vienna on 16 June 2013. He was 94 years old. His work remains connected with an early form of research diving: curious, technically precise, clear on film and driven by the aim of making the world below the water surface understandable.