abs. iur. Ministerialrat Julius von Steyskal

Julius von Steyskal is born as the son of the k. u. k. He was born Julius Ritter von Steyskal, a captain of a ship of the line (a rank equivalent to colonel) and attended grammar schools in Marburg/Drau and Graz. After graduating from high school, he completed his one-year voluntary service in 1895/96 with the Corps Artillery Regiment No. 8 (last rank Lieutenant of the Reserve). He then began his studies at the Faculty of Law at the University of Graz (abs. iur. 1901).

In early October 1901, Julius von Steyskal joined the postal and telegraph administration in Trieste, but was appointed to the central office of the Imperial and Royal Ministry of Trade at the beginning of 1907, which was also responsible for the postal service at the time. During the First World War, he was Presidential Director of the Director General of the Post and Telegraph Administration and liaison officer between the field post office and the Imperial and Royal War Ministry. War Ministry. After the First World War, he was taken over by the Republic of Austria and initially worked in the pensions department. In 1922, while still a ministerial secretary, he was awarded the title of ministerial councillor.

In 1924, Julius von Steyskal was assigned to the Postal Transportation and Rates Department. On October 29, 1925, he was appointed to the rank of Ministerialrat and head of this department. On July 20, 1933, he was promoted to the then first grade (section chiefs) and appointed President of the Postal and Telegraph Directorate for Vienna, Lower Austria and Burgenland, the largest in Austria. On November 11, 1933, he was entrusted with the management of the General Directorate for the Postal and Telegraph Administration and was appointed Director General on December 27, 1933. He retired on July 31, 1937.

Although already retired, Julius von Steyskal was arrested on April 14, 1938 and remained in custody for five months until September 13, 1938. On October 31, 1938, he was initially deprived of his entire pension, but was later granted 45 percent. It is rather unusual for an already retired civil servant to be arrested and have his pension cut in the course of the Anschluss. For the time being, we can only speculate about the reasons.

It could have been a "punitive action" because Julius von Steyskal, in his position at the post office, may have removed illegal National Socialists and prevented them from being hired. The arrest could also have been because he may have voted no in the referendum on April 10, 1938. The arrest on April 14 and not in March could in turn have been due to the fact that the so-called "transport of celebrities" to Dachau concentration camp took place at the beginning of April, freeing up capacity in the police prison. In any case, Julius von Steyskal worked temporarily as an insurance agent after his release to make up for the loss of income