Synopsis
"Save the Last Bullet"
Heidi’s father, Willi Langbein, was 13 in 1943 when the Nazis took him away from his parents under the pretense of protecting him from Allied bombing.
Instead, he was molded into cannon fodder for use against the Russian Army. He was sent to the Eastern Front in the last days of the war, never expected to return alive.
Having survived against all odds, he gives an eye-witness account of the devastating effects of war from his unique perspective as a child soldier.
It is a story of innocence lost and despair, but also of grit and determination, and of hope restored.
Save the Last Bullet
Book reviews
"Save the Last Bullet is a true story of a German boy-soldier coming of age at the apocalyptic end of World War II. In the powerful tradition of The Red Badge of Courage and All is Quiet on the Western Front, it will haunt and inspire. Fast paced, frightening, and heart pounding, beautifully written, an unforgettable read."
- James McMurtry Longo, Ed.D
Author Hitler and the Habsburgs: The Fuhrer’s Vendetta Against the Austrian Royals
“In a world too often diminished by divisions, demonizations and despair, Save the Last Bullet is a must-read true story about the power of one person to inspire healing and hope. Rather than lament the darkness amidst the ashes and horrors of World War 2, the story of Heidi Langbein-Allen’s father inspires us to increase the light and never lose faith in building a better, more democratic, kind and good world."
​
- Rabbi Daniel Cohen
Author of The Secret of the Light and What Will They Say About You When You're Gone: Creating a Life of Legacy
“A very powerful insight into the savagery of the last days of the German Reich as seen from the viewpoint of a very naive child-recruit. Young Willi is force-fed Nazi propaganda but he soon sees for himself what defeat means, especially as he stands in a fox-hole, aged 14, firing Panzerfausts at Soviet tanks that are crushing his comrades.
The book also provides a compelling explanation as to why a generation or more of Germans found it almost impossible to talk about the evils of the vanquished Reich. Recommended."
​
- Professor Paul Moorcraft
Journalist, author and security commentator