Sebastian Leicht was born August 10, 1908 in Batschka Brestowatz, Westbatschka.  His artist talents were evident very early and he attended the art school at Belgrage and Munchen.  Returning in 1930 to his home country Yugoslavia he had to fulfill his military service in the Yugoslavian army.

When his area was ceded to Hungary he then had to serve in 1943 in the Hungarian Army.  When Hungary allowed Germany to draft her ethnic Germans, he was assigned to a German Military war reporter unit.

At the end of the was he found himself in Bavaria and reunified with his family, who were able to flee from the advancing Communist armies.

Sebastian Leicht supported himself and his family as a house painter and free-lance portrait artist, making portraits of US army physicians at the Passau base.

Later he was able to concentrate on his artistic endeavors and became a well known and sought after artist.

Source: Short biography and numerous images of Leicht's are published in the book Genocide of the Ethnic Germans in Yugoslavia 1944-1948, Santa Ana, California USA. Licensed by the Donauschwabische Kulturstiftung - Munchen, Germany. Copyright 2001 by Danube Swabian Association of the U.S.A. Printed by Award Printing Corp., Chicago, IL. ISBN: 0-9710341-0-9.  Permission to republish given by Leo Mayer.

[Published at DVHH.org 27 Dec 2007]