abs. iur. Robert von Steyskal

After graduating from grammar school in Vienna III, Robert Steyskal studied law, political science and medicine at the University of Vienna from 1920 to 1925. In 1920, he joins the student fraternity Norica. After graduating in law and political science, he first worked in the Lower Austrian provincial government and then joined the Federal Ministry of Trade and Transport. In 1935 he was appointed Ministerial Secretary. Later, he was Head of Department and a member of the Federal Executive Board of the VF.

After the Anschluss, he was granted leave of absence on March 16, 1938 and dismissed without pay on August 18, 1938. From 1938 to 1942, he worked in the private sector as an authorized signatory. From 1940, he is a member of the resistance group around Prof. Dr. Karl Meithner (1892-1942). After this group was exposed in 1942, he was arrested and remanded in custody at the Vienna Regional Criminal Court on charges of preparation for high treason. The Gestapo carried out three house searches in his apartment. On November 5, 1942, the Vienna Higher Regional Court sentenced him to two years' imprisonment and two years' loss of honour, as he had "committed the crime of preparation for high treason by making support contributions to communist causes". In the reasons for the sentence, special reference is made to his membership of Norica. He spends his prison sentence in the penitentiary in Straubing. After his release, he was drafted as a tank gunner on November 8, 1944.

He returned to Vienna from the war wounded and rejoined the federal service in 1945.