A family affair: DSM welcomes its 50,000th visitor of the year

On October 10, the German Maritime Museum (DSM) / Leibniz Institute for Maritime History welcomed its 50,000th visitor this year. Fittingly, it was a family matter that brought the man to the museum – a happy coincidence that brings things full circle: as a souvenir, he received not only a DSM fan scarf, but also a hand-signed book from the Spieß family, which preserves the memory of the famous Captain Fritz Spieß, who successfully completed the METEOR expedition exactly 100 years ago.

Dressed in heavy motorcycle gear and with a searching look in their eyes, Klaus Irion and his sister Lillian entered the museum on October 10. Their journey there was rather unusual: arriving by motorcycle from Manchester, England, the Brazilian-born man had a clear mission in mind.
“I wanted to find the ship on which our ancestors emigrated from Germany via Hamburg to Brazil in the 19th century,” explains Irion, showing the little information available on his cell phone. His family originally came from Tuttlingen and emigrated to southern Brazil, where they were allocated a small piece of land.

A large community of German descent developed – and the first name Klaus still reminds us of their European roots today. His great-grandmother Regina Wendling and her parents took the NAVIO CAMPINAS from Bremen, which was later bought by Hapag Lloyd and renamed SS VALENCIA. When the Wendlings arrived in Sao Vicente (now Jounville) in Brazil, Klaus Irion's great-grandmother met his great-grandfather. The two married on the next ship to their new home. The Irions are now looking for photos of the ships on which their family history began, including in the DSM archives.

It was pure coincidence that Klaus Irion was the 50,000th DSM guest of the year. This made the special gift all the more welcome: an autographed book from the Spieß family, who recently visited the special exhibition “Gaining Land – The German Atlantic Expedition from 1925 to 1927.” Among other things, the museum exhibits the diary of Fritz Spieß, captain of the legendary METEOR expedition that began in 1925. Along with many photos and other documents, it is one of the central sources from which the history of the research expedition was reconstructed for the special exhibition.

So now a very special piece of family history is embarking on a new journey: Klaus Irion plans to read the book himself first to refresh his German language skills – which will also be helpful for further research in the DSM depot. After that, his sister in Portugal will read it before it finally travels across the Atlantic to other family members in Brazil. The book now connects two family histories. And the fan scarf? The siblings are enthusiastic about the DSM – and Klaus might even wear the scarf at Manchester United's stadium. A true fan, indeed.