We are deeply saddened that our long-time author Walter Schossig passed away on March 1, 2026.
With his passing, the world loses one of its most distinguished experts in the history of protection and control engineering.
Walter was born in 1941. He began his professional career with an apprenticeship as an electrician at the potash mine in Sondershausen. From 1958 to 1961, he studied at the Engineering School for Electrical Power Engineering “Dr. Robert Mayer” in Zittau. As a young electrical engineer, he started his career at a power plant and later worked as an engineer in network operations.
From 1968 to 1996, Walter Schossig served as an engineer and later as Head of Network Protection at the energy combine in Gotha, and subsequently at ENAG/TEAG Thüringer Energie AG in Erfurt. During these decades, he became one of the defining figures in network protection in the former GDR and, following German reunification, in unified Germany. Even after his retirement in 1997, his dedication to the energy and power systems sector remained unwavering and even intensified.
Throughout his career, he was actively involved in numerous professional committees and working groups. These included the KDT working group on medium-voltage protection, the VDEW committee on relay and protection technology, and the German Commission for Electrical Engineering (DKE) committee K434 on measuring relays and protection devices, among others. Until shortly before his death, he remained an active contributor to VDE committees in Dresden and Thuringia, as well as to the national VDE committee on the history of electrical engineering. For these achievements, he was honored in 2023 by the Association for Electrical, Electronic & Information Technologies (VDE) with the Karl Joachim Euler Medal for his contributions to the research and presentation of the history of electrical engineering.
Since the very first edition, Walter has been a valued contributor to our magazine. His first paper, “Introduction to the History of Selective Protection,” was published in 2007. Over 75 issues, he covered the full spectrum of protection, earth-fault detection, testing, control, and more. With extraordinary dedication, he drew from his vast archive—comprising several thousand references—to produce insightful and engaging articles for nearly every issue.
In 2015 he became the Guru and we asked how long his material would last; he confidently replied that he had enough topics for decades to come.
Despite battling cancer for several years, his contributions to PAC World remained one of his highest priorities. He consistently delivered his articles on time, never requiring reminders. His final contribution for this edition was submitted in January 2026, shortly after returning from the hospital.
Walter Schossig was also a respected book author. In Germany, he published the book “Netzschutztechnik” (“Network Protection Technology”). Later co-authored with his son Thomas Schossig, the book went through seven editions and became a highly valued reference among protection engineers. Remarkably, on the very day of his passing, he was still working on final remarks for the eighth edition, which is currently in preparation.
Walter Schossig will be remembered not only as an outstanding expert, but also as a collegial, warm, and tireless seeker of knowledge. His passion for research and his deep expertise shaped generations of engineers. The loss leaves a gap that will be difficult to fill.
His memory will be honored and cherished by colleagues, friends, and the wider engineering community.
In the September issue of our magazine, we will dedicate a special historical paper to him, describing his journey in protection, automation, and control.
