Leo Leixner (1908–1942) was an Austrian journalist and war correspondent. He is known for his boo
''From Lemberg to Bordeaux''
a first-hand account of war in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

, the Low Countries, and France, 1939–40, during World War II.

Early life and education

Leo Leixner, a schoolteacher's son, was born in Thörl-Maglern, Austria, on March 26, 1908, and graduated in 1918 from the German National Real Gymnasium in Villach. He studied German Literature at the

University of Graz The University of Graz (german: link=no, Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz, ), located in Graz, Austria, is the largest and oldest university in Styria, as well as the second-largest and second-oldest university in Austria. History The univers ...

and received his Doctor of Philosophy in 1932, with a dissertation entitled ''Mohammed in German Poetry''.

Journalist and war correspondent

After 1933, Leixner wrote for ''

Der Angriff ''Der Angriff'' (in English "The Attack") is a discontinued German language newspaper founded in 1927 by the Berlin Gau of the Nazi Party. The last edition was published on 24 April 1945. History The newspaper was set up by Joseph Goebbels, ...

'' newspaper, and was assigned to the Vienna office. He also wrote for the ''

Völkischer Beobachter The ''Völkischer Beobachter'' (; "'' Völkisch'' Observer") was the newspaper of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) from 25 December 1920. It first appeared weekly, then daily from 8 February 1923. For twenty-four years it formed part of the official pub ...

'' and other Nazi publications. On August 22, 1939, Leixner volunteered for the Wehrmacht. His most popular book was the illustrated
From Lemberg to Bordeaux
Front Experiences of a War Reporter'' (1941).

Death

Leixner was killed on 14 August 1942 in

Krasnodar Krasnodar (; rus, Краснода́р, p=krəsnɐˈdar; ady, Краснодар), formerly Yekaterinodar (until 1920), is the largest city and the administrative centre of Krasnodar Krai, Russia. The city stands on the Kuban River in southe ...

-Kuban (Russia). He was shot through the head while crossing the

Kuban River The Kuban; Circassian: Псыжъ, ''Psyẑ'' or Псыжь, ''Psyź'' ; abq, Къвбина, ''Q̇vbina'' ; Karachay–Balkar: Къобан, ''Qoban''; Nogai: Кобан, ''Qoban'') is a river in Russia that flows through the Western Cauc ...

in an inflatable boat. He was awarded an

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (german: link=no, Eisernes Kreuz, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, and later in the German Empire (1871–1918) and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). King Frederick William III of Prussia e ...

First Class on the day of his death.Leo Leixner on Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge e. V.
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Books

*''Von Lemberg bis Bordeaux: Fronterlebnisse eines Kriegsberichters''
''From Lemberg to Bordeaux: Front Experiences of a War Reporter''
by Leo Leixner. 11 editions published between 1941 and 1942 in German and held by 71

WorldCat WorldCat is a union catalog that itemizes the collections of tens of thousands of institutions (mostly libraries), in many countries, that are current or past members of the OCLC global cooperative. It is operated by OCLC, Inc. Many of the OC ...

member libraries worldwide) *''Generaloberst

Eugen Ritter von Schobert Eugen Siegfried Erich Ritter von Schobert (13 March 1883 – 12 September 1941) was a German general during World War II. He commanded the 11th Army during Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union. Schobert died when his observatio ...

; Lebensbild eines deutschen Armeeführers'' by Leo Leixner. Four editions published in 1942 in German and held by 13 WorldCat member libraries worldwide

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leixner, Leo 1908 births 1942 deaths People from Villach-Land People from the Duchy of Carinthia German Army soldiers of World War II German military writers German Army personnel killed in World War II Austrian war correspondents Deaths by firearm in the Soviet Union Deaths by firearm in Russia Recipients of the Iron Cross (1939), 1st class