The War Years
World War II did not stop Leo from creating some significant master pieces that are coming to light some 60 - 70 years later.

image In Hitler's Reichsarmee
 At the age of 28, Leo was drafted and sent to Deggendorf and became an instructor for army vehicles, including trucks, chain vehicles and small division tanks (Haubitze).  In 1943, he was deployed to serve in the Afrikakorps, where his unit was deemed 'destroyed' in May of 1943.  He was then reassigned to the Grenadier Reserve Batallion in Erlangen, then deployed to the Ardennes at the Siegfried line, where he was taken prisoner by American forces in September of 1944 and confined to the POW Camp in Reims, France.
image Encounter with Lt. Colonel Russell of Dryden, NY, USA
 At POW Camp in Reims, Leo caught the attention of several American officers, including one of the three prison camp commanders, Lt. Colonel Lawrence Russell.  Russell's granddaughter Mary Ann Jacobson, formerly of Dryden, New York, now:  Georgia, got in touch with us back in 2000, sharing that her grandfather had asked Leo to paint several works on canvas that are listed in our War Years gallery.  Mary Ann also owns the sketches that Leo did of fellow inmate Reusch and himself.  The watercolor on the left is a self-portrait.  Leo was part of a group of prisoners who put on skids and theatre plays to entertain the American troops.
image Encounter with Laverne 'Vern' Van Dyke
 American officer Van Dyke was in charge of a group of prisoners that included Leo and spent a lot of time talking to him, while Van Dyke was on guard.  He describes Leo as a genius, who composed this painting of Van Dyke in a group of sittings totalling 10 hours.  Leo also made a painting of Van Dyke's future wife Nancy from a photograph provided to him.  These are now in the possession of Barbara Weiskopf of Indiana, USA.
image 'Break the Frame'
 From a photo that wife Helene sent to Leo to the POW camp, after she had just found out that her husband Leo was still alive, Leo painted this portrait of his 6 year old son Thilo. He then sent mailed the portrait from Reims with instructions to "break open the frame."  In the frame, he had hid money and valuables to assist his family with their struggle to stay alive.