{{Short description|Austrian war correspondent}} {{Infobox military person |birth_name= Leopold Leixner |birth_date= {{birth date|1908|3|26}} |death_date= {{death date and age|1942|8|14|1908|3|26}} |birth_place= Thörl-Maglern, Duchy of Carinthia, Austria-Hungary |death_place= Krasnodar/Kuban, RSFSR, USSR |image= File:Leixnerfn.jpg |caption= |nickname= |allegiance={{flag|Nazi Germany}} |service_years= |rank= Wachtmeister |branch=Army |commands= |unit= |battles= World War II |awards= Iron Cross First Class |relations= Marga Käthe Leixner (née Gambalis- Altmann) }}
'''Leo Leixner''' (1908–1942) was an Austrian journalist and war correspondent. He is known for his book [https://books.google.com/books?isbn=1543059252 ''From Lemberg to Bordeaux''], a first-hand account of war in Poland, 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 and received his Doctor of Philosophy in 1932, with a dissertation entitled ''Mohammed in German Poetry''.<ref>Erich Nussbaumer, Josef-Friedrich-Perkonig-Gesellschaft. Kärnten im Wort: Aus d. Dichtung eines halben Jahrhunderts, 1971, p. 279</ref><ref>Joh. Leon. Carinthia I.: Mitteilungen des Geschichtsvereins für Kärnten. 2004, p. 105</ref>
==Journalist and war correspondent== After 1933, Leixner wrote for ''Der Angriff'' newspaper, and was assigned to the Vienna office. He also wrote for the ''Völkischer Beobachter'' and other Nazi publications. On August 22, 1939, Leixner volunteered for the Wehrmacht. His most popular book was the illustrated ''[https://books.google.com/books?isbn=1543059252 From Lemberg to Bordeaux]: Front Experiences of a War Reporter'' (1941).<ref>[http://othes.univie.ac.at/7194/ Pruckner, Marion. Dr. Leo Leixner – ein typischer Vertreter der nationalsozialistischen Kriegsberichterstatter? Thesis, University of Vienna 2009]</ref><ref>[https://catalog.loc.gov/vwebv/search?searchArg=leo+leixner+steven+lehrer&searchCode=GKEY%5E*&searchType=0&recCount=25 From Lemberg to Bordeaux in the Library of Congress catalog]</ref>
==Death== Leixner was killed on 14 August 1942 in Krasnodar-Kuban (Russia). He was shot through the head while crossing the Kuban River in an inflatable boat. He was awarded an Iron Cross First Class on the day of his death.<ref>[http://www.volksbund.de/graebersuche/detailansicht.html?tx_igverlustsuche_pi2%5Bgid%5D=8482ecd719594b1e3364a44da0c27fd2&cHash=3872d6f5824edcdc17fce0ab479516b1 Leo Leixner on Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge e. V.]</ref>
==Books== *''Von Lemberg bis Bordeaux: Fronterlebnisse eines Kriegsberichters'' ([https://books.google.com/books?isbn=1543059252 ''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 member libraries worldwide) *''Generaloberst Eugen Ritter von Schobert; Lebensbild eines deutschen Armeeführers'' by Leo Leixner. Four editions published in 1942 in German and held by 13 WorldCat member libraries worldwide
==References== {{reflist}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Leixner, Leo}} Category:1908 births Category:1942 deaths Category:People from Villach-Land Category:People from the Duchy of Carinthia Category:German Army soldiers of World War II Category:German military writers Category:German Army personnel killed in World War II Category:Austrian war correspondents Category:Deaths by firearm in the Soviet Union Category:Deaths by firearm in Russia Category:Recipients of the Iron Cross (1939), 1st class Category:Austrian military personnel killed in World War II