Hanns Sassmann was born in 1924 and grew up in Vienna. Even as a youth he actively took part in his local parish life. After Austrias´ “Anschluss”, Sassmann joined the Christian Resistance together with some school-friends. In 1943 he was conscripted to the armed forces and a year later was discharged as war-disabled. At the end of the NS-Terrors he was hounoured for his services with an award for liberating Austria.

In the first years following the war Sassmann was involved in a leading position, with the rebuilding of the church youth organization. At the same time he studied History, German Studies and Philosophy at the University of Vienna. After his doctorate in 1949 Hanns Sassmann began as editor of the weekly newspaper “Die Wende”, before he was sent for by Karl Maria Stepan in1951 to work for “Styria” in Graz.

Years of travel followed in publishing, amongst others by the “Kölnischen Rundshau” and the publishing house “Kiepenheuer & Witsch”, where he was editor in charge of the novel by Heinrich Böll. In 1954 Hanns Sassmann returned as management secretary to “Styria” and rose in 1959 to director of the newspaper publishing house. In 1964 he was promoted to director over the whole company. He was the logical successor to Karl Maria Stepan in 1968 and took over the chairmanship of the complete business concerns of the Catholic Press Association.

Sassmann was a managerial member in diffferent publishing associations, for instance in the Austrian Association of Newspaper Publishers (VÖZ) and in the Catholic Press World Union (UCIP), where he was elected to their president in 1980. In his speech in 1989 at the 120 year celebration, Sassmann described “Styria” as a “world efficient, social and prosperous enterprise”. In a visionary statement at that time he said: “With our intellectual publishing concept we have to furthermore concern ourselves with the position of the company. It can only be called: offensive!”

The Honourable Senator to the University of Graz died in June 1997.