What do you think?
Rate this book
For One Moment: A Biographical Story
Herbe Engelhardt is sucked into a swirling vortex of emotional confusion when his parents divorce. As a result, Herbe is driven by insecurity and a hunger for something missing in his pseudo-religious training, joining Hitler's promising regime. Bitter, fighting a God he doesn't know or understand, Herbe comes to a moment of crisis, and in that one moment, his destiny is determined. Based on the real struggles of a boy who grew up in the emotional turmoil of a broken home and the political turmoil of Nazi Germany.
353 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 1964
4 people are currently reading
106 people want to read
About the author
Christmas Carol Kauffman
38 books50 followersChristmas Carol Kauffman (December 25, 1901 - January 30, 1969) was a Mennonite author of inspirational Christian literature. Kauffman was best known for her semi-biographical novels, and her writings were largely based on the life stories of people she met through the mission work she performed with her husband, pastor Nelson E. Kauffman. She is mother of James Kauffman. -wikipedia
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
January 25, 2017
A deep and inspiring testimony of a young man who tried to fill the void with everything, even making Hitler his idol-before one moment changed his life forever! Greatly enjoyed this, I couldn't put it down. :)
February 4, 2023
The cover of the old, worn looking, faded book Mom found at a thrift shop years ago(12-13) has been staring at me for years and years. I finally decided to pick it up a week ago and… WOW! What an emotion filled, heart wrenching, and beautiful redemption story.
The story, characters, setting, and plot were wholly gripping and wondrously written.
My “brief” summary of the book:
In Germany Little Herbert’s (Herbe) heart is wrenched out when his father takes him and his brother Willie -who though older had disabilities due to an injury at an early age- away from their mamma to go with him and his new wife. Life is miserable for Herbe as his father acts as though he doesn’t exist half the time and his new mother evidently resents him and despises poor Willie.
Once they are old enough the boys are each sent to school. After a few years Herbe by the request and desire of his parents is sent to a school in Czechoslovakia to become a priest. At first he thinks the being in Catholic Church and becoming a priest will give his life meaning but after several years he sees the emptiness of this life. A life without joy. A life without love. A life lived in fearful submission that grew to resentment.
In his late teens he decides to leave the church and God completely behind and to apprentice in a glass working trade. Not desiring to go back to his father and stepmother ever and he never did see them again.
Time passes and he becomes very good at his trade eventually he gets caught up in what sounds like it will lead to a glorious life as a new leader comes to power in Germany and he leaves Czech to return to Germany. This charismatic young leader Herbe came to idolize was non other than Adolf Hitler, who promised peace and prosperity to Germany and to bring them back on top of the world.
Herbe having had a life full of sorrow and disappointments from the start hungrily ate up this new regime and became a member of the Nazi party and fought with reckless bravely and courage to try to accomplish the regime of his idol– Hitler.
With Hitler’s death came the deepest despair Herbe had yet experienced. He did not care to live and wished his life had been ended. With the war over and being released from an American POW camp he went straight to his closest friend’s house. And got by doing odd jobs.
After going on a self appointed mission to find a missing comrade who was close as a brother and he came inches from death Herbe cried out to God and sought Him with everything and came to Christ.
A completely new man Herbe went on let every person he came across about the joy and purpose he possessed. In every place he and then his wife and daughter went he couldn’t help but share his joy and the life changing power of the Lord. The story ends with Herbe and his wife and year old daughter in America.
This book for the first half felt so sad and hopeless I was gripped completely into it yet wanting to put it out of my mind for the internal compassion and tears I shed. But once Herbe’s redemption comes… the book turns from dark to light. From despair into joy.
I can’t fully describe the beauty of this story so I’ll quit rambling.
The story, characters, setting, and plot were wholly gripping and wondrously written.
My “brief” summary of the book:
In Germany Little Herbert’s (Herbe) heart is wrenched out when his father takes him and his brother Willie -who though older had disabilities due to an injury at an early age- away from their mamma to go with him and his new wife. Life is miserable for Herbe as his father acts as though he doesn’t exist half the time and his new mother evidently resents him and despises poor Willie.
Once they are old enough the boys are each sent to school. After a few years Herbe by the request and desire of his parents is sent to a school in Czechoslovakia to become a priest. At first he thinks the being in Catholic Church and becoming a priest will give his life meaning but after several years he sees the emptiness of this life. A life without joy. A life without love. A life lived in fearful submission that grew to resentment.
In his late teens he decides to leave the church and God completely behind and to apprentice in a glass working trade. Not desiring to go back to his father and stepmother ever and he never did see them again.
Time passes and he becomes very good at his trade eventually he gets caught up in what sounds like it will lead to a glorious life as a new leader comes to power in Germany and he leaves Czech to return to Germany. This charismatic young leader Herbe came to idolize was non other than Adolf Hitler, who promised peace and prosperity to Germany and to bring them back on top of the world.
Herbe having had a life full of sorrow and disappointments from the start hungrily ate up this new regime and became a member of the Nazi party and fought with reckless bravely and courage to try to accomplish the regime of his idol– Hitler.
With Hitler’s death came the deepest despair Herbe had yet experienced. He did not care to live and wished his life had been ended. With the war over and being released from an American POW camp he went straight to his closest friend’s house. And got by doing odd jobs.
After going on a self appointed mission to find a missing comrade who was close as a brother and he came inches from death Herbe cried out to God and sought Him with everything and came to Christ.
A completely new man Herbe went on let every person he came across about the joy and purpose he possessed. In every place he and then his wife and daughter went he couldn’t help but share his joy and the life changing power of the Lord. The story ends with Herbe and his wife and year old daughter in America.
This book for the first half felt so sad and hopeless I was gripped completely into it yet wanting to put it out of my mind for the internal compassion and tears I shed. But once Herbe’s redemption comes… the book turns from dark to light. From despair into joy.
I can’t fully describe the beauty of this story so I’ll quit rambling.
July 3, 2009
This was one of a number of books left by my grandparents after their death. Rows and piles of yellowed, dusty volumes were laid out to be divided among aunts, uncles and cousins. Not many of them had the benefit of appealing book-cover design to win over their next reader -- truly a "can't judge a book by the cover" scenario. But this one was a worthy pick.
Mom picked it up before I did -- a slightly more voracious reader than I -- I often trust her to recommend (or not recommend) books that she's read, sometimes saving me the trouble of wading through a real dud. Her brief review of this one caught my attention. "It's WWII holocaust biographical fiction account -- but not told from the side of the concentration camps. Rather it's told from the other side -- the story of a man who joined Hitler's youth program and later fought in the army -- was swept along in the propaganda of it all -- who then came to Christ after the war."
That was enough to pique my interest -- I've been exposed to a number of literary and cinematic portrayals of the side of those persecuted: The Hiding Place made one of the earliest and deepest impressions on me. But then of course, Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl, The Faithful Elephants, Life is Beautiful, Schindler's List, Jakob the Liar, and Graveyard of the Fireflies are a few others that I recall most immediately.
For One Moment by Christmas Carol Kauffman was written by a conservative Mennonite author in a decade far removed from our own. It's easy to assume that a yellowed volume not published by one of today's savvy historical/political pundits won't have much to offer. But this novel was remarkably captivating. Author Kauffman is very psychologically aware as she describes in great detail where the main characters Herbe, Willie, Grete, Ludwig, and others are coming from in their interactions with each other, with the political propaganda of the day, and with the expressions of Catholic and Protestant faith around them. Kauffman so vividly describes the economic and social climate of the day, that by the time Herbe has declared his allegiance to Hitler, the reader is utterly on board with the decision. It's easy to see how for someone in that time and place, it seemed like the only sane option available.
Little bits of the author's personal stance come through from time to time: at one point it is subtly clear that she is a pacifist, and of course, her descriptions of Herbe's journey to faith are unquestionably written to both inspire and convert. However, never is she preachy or didactic, but rather allows the story to tell itself.
I found myself at the end of the book wishing a few loose ends had been tied up more snugly -- What ever happened to Herbe's military comrade, MIA? Did Herbe ever reconnect with his estranged stepmother? How did that conversation with Sam Jones go the next day? But it is true that in real life, our stories don't always have beautifully resolved endings. We die with unaddressed conflicts, unstated apologies and unanswered questions.
One of the most rewarding things about reading this book was indeed knowing that it was based on a true story. On the title page of the copy I read is an autograph penned in blue ink: "Fred Linhart (Herbe)" and then in a child's hand, penciled above the words: "story about this man."
--Jen
Mom picked it up before I did -- a slightly more voracious reader than I -- I often trust her to recommend (or not recommend) books that she's read, sometimes saving me the trouble of wading through a real dud. Her brief review of this one caught my attention. "It's WWII holocaust biographical fiction account -- but not told from the side of the concentration camps. Rather it's told from the other side -- the story of a man who joined Hitler's youth program and later fought in the army -- was swept along in the propaganda of it all -- who then came to Christ after the war."
That was enough to pique my interest -- I've been exposed to a number of literary and cinematic portrayals of the side of those persecuted: The Hiding Place made one of the earliest and deepest impressions on me. But then of course, Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl, The Faithful Elephants, Life is Beautiful, Schindler's List, Jakob the Liar, and Graveyard of the Fireflies are a few others that I recall most immediately.
For One Moment by Christmas Carol Kauffman was written by a conservative Mennonite author in a decade far removed from our own. It's easy to assume that a yellowed volume not published by one of today's savvy historical/political pundits won't have much to offer. But this novel was remarkably captivating. Author Kauffman is very psychologically aware as she describes in great detail where the main characters Herbe, Willie, Grete, Ludwig, and others are coming from in their interactions with each other, with the political propaganda of the day, and with the expressions of Catholic and Protestant faith around them. Kauffman so vividly describes the economic and social climate of the day, that by the time Herbe has declared his allegiance to Hitler, the reader is utterly on board with the decision. It's easy to see how for someone in that time and place, it seemed like the only sane option available.
Little bits of the author's personal stance come through from time to time: at one point it is subtly clear that she is a pacifist, and of course, her descriptions of Herbe's journey to faith are unquestionably written to both inspire and convert. However, never is she preachy or didactic, but rather allows the story to tell itself.
I found myself at the end of the book wishing a few loose ends had been tied up more snugly -- What ever happened to Herbe's military comrade, MIA? Did Herbe ever reconnect with his estranged stepmother? How did that conversation with Sam Jones go the next day? But it is true that in real life, our stories don't always have beautifully resolved endings. We die with unaddressed conflicts, unstated apologies and unanswered questions.
One of the most rewarding things about reading this book was indeed knowing that it was based on a true story. On the title page of the copy I read is an autograph penned in blue ink: "Fred Linhart (Herbe)" and then in a child's hand, penciled above the words: "story about this man."
--Jen
December 7, 2012
Around 1918, five-year-old Herbert (Herbe) Englehardt is living in Dresden, Germany, with his mother Grete, teenage sister Emeline, and four-year-older brother William (Willie) who is somewhat mentally challenged. Herbe’s father Ludwig has been away as a soldier fighting for the Kaiser during World War I. The family is looking forward to having him back after the war ends. However, when Ludwig returns home following the war, he divorces Grete, marries his new Italian girlfriend Nelda, and takes Herbe and Willie to Koln where his new job is. Herbe’s mother believes that the boys need to be with their father, so she agrees but doesn’t tell Herbe until the last minute.
As a result of this upheaval, Herbe is filled with an insecurity and a hunger for something solid to fill the void left in his life. Over the years, he finds that this insatiable desire isn’t satisfied by his dysfunctional family life, his pseudo-religious training for possible priesthood, or his work for Adolf Hitler in the growing Nazi party. He is further disillusioned by the fact that his father alternates between doting and being distant, his step-mother seems to dislike him, his brother Willie dies unexpectedly while he is away, and when he finds a fiancé she also dies from pneumonia. Is his life nothing more than a mindless series of disappointments, pain, dashed hopes, and empty promises? What will Herbe do when he comes to a moment of crisis? Will he ever find meaning for his existence? If so, where and how?
For One Moment is based on a true account of boy who grew up in the emotional turmoil of a broken home and the political turmoil of Nazi Germany, becoming a German soldier who fought for the Nazis in World War II but eventually finding peace when he turns to Jesus Christ “in answer to a prayer. A prayer for one moment. Only one.” A few instances of smoking cigarettes and drinking alcohol occur, but they are minor and do not promote the practices. There are some veiled references to possible abuse at the monastery where Herbe studied for the priesthood, but they are handled discreetly. Also, several religious doctrines with which Bible believers from different backgrounds may disagree are mentioned. Someone has noted that little bits of the author's personal stance come through from time to time, especially her pacifism, but she is never preachy or didactic, rather allowing the story to tell itself. In general, it is a wholesome book with a valuable message.
As a result of this upheaval, Herbe is filled with an insecurity and a hunger for something solid to fill the void left in his life. Over the years, he finds that this insatiable desire isn’t satisfied by his dysfunctional family life, his pseudo-religious training for possible priesthood, or his work for Adolf Hitler in the growing Nazi party. He is further disillusioned by the fact that his father alternates between doting and being distant, his step-mother seems to dislike him, his brother Willie dies unexpectedly while he is away, and when he finds a fiancé she also dies from pneumonia. Is his life nothing more than a mindless series of disappointments, pain, dashed hopes, and empty promises? What will Herbe do when he comes to a moment of crisis? Will he ever find meaning for his existence? If so, where and how?
For One Moment is based on a true account of boy who grew up in the emotional turmoil of a broken home and the political turmoil of Nazi Germany, becoming a German soldier who fought for the Nazis in World War II but eventually finding peace when he turns to Jesus Christ “in answer to a prayer. A prayer for one moment. Only one.” A few instances of smoking cigarettes and drinking alcohol occur, but they are minor and do not promote the practices. There are some veiled references to possible abuse at the monastery where Herbe studied for the priesthood, but they are handled discreetly. Also, several religious doctrines with which Bible believers from different backgrounds may disagree are mentioned. Someone has noted that little bits of the author's personal stance come through from time to time, especially her pacifism, but she is never preachy or didactic, rather allowing the story to tell itself. In general, it is a wholesome book with a valuable message.
December 17, 2017
Fast moving, hard to put down. Two very young boys deal with the divorce of their parents and having to live with a father and step-mother who would rather they were not around. One of the boys ends up following Hitler and joins his army. Lots of characters in the story bring hope and a very strong message of faith develops. Really enjoyed this read.
September 5, 2012
i really liked this one though it was really sad.
i don't like the ending.....i wish there was more to the story!!!!
i don't like the ending.....i wish there was more to the story!!!!
December 11, 2025
This book is a historical fiction book. I can judge a book by its cover, and ordinarily, this isn't a book I would read had I not been prompted by my brother. This book was a great read, though there are quite few parts I didn't find easy to read. It is hard to believe it is based on a true story!!! Some of the events seemed so unreal!
The book is religious, and highly conservative. It is an appropriate story for families to read. If you love reading stories about WW2 and how people moved past the events of war, then I highly recommend this book. There are a lot of sad parts, though, but all in all, I thoroughly enjoyed the book!
Thank you for reading and I hope you find this helpful!
The book is religious, and highly conservative. It is an appropriate story for families to read. If you love reading stories about WW2 and how people moved past the events of war, then I highly recommend this book. There are a lot of sad parts, though, but all in all, I thoroughly enjoyed the book!
Thank you for reading and I hope you find this helpful!
March 11, 2021
A very good book. Actually the second time I've read it, the first was over 5 years ago. I am I fan of all of Christmas Carol Kauffman's work, they are a little bit similar in style but the stories are amazing. She wrote about real people doing the work of God, and of the work of God in their lives.
For One Moment tells the story of an ex-nazi after the war, disillusioned with the world, and how one moment changed all of that and gave him real faith.
For One Moment tells the story of an ex-nazi after the war, disillusioned with the world, and how one moment changed all of that and gave him real faith.
January 4, 2022
Gripping biographical account of a young man's heartbreaking childhood in Germany and how it influences his future choices. The story begins at the end of WWI and takes us through a few years after WWII. The author does a superb job of letting us see through the eyes of a child, and his struggle with life and a belief in God that ensues as a young man. An excellent story on many levels.
November 10, 2024
Fifth time I’ve read this book and it was just as good as the first time! The story pulls you in and doesn’t let go until the last page. Christian historical fiction at its best!
November 26, 2025
truly inspiring ♡
June 12, 2013
another book I've read over and over as a Mennonite teenager. This book has stayed with me for life. As Mennonite we were taught that it was wrong to go to war. If we ever had any doubts as to the severity of war, this book removed all doubts. Any going man who was even harboring the thought of enlisting, was given this book to read. 40 years later I can still recall the image and horror in my mind and heart as I read how the " severed arm laid in the mud, like gravy."
April 13, 2015
Not worth another read. The characters, writing, and plot were all pretty pathetic. I realize that it was a true story, which makes it more difficult, but this book was not even slightly enjoyable. It rambled and dragged on for what seemed like forever.
December 17, 2008
Outstanding true story of former German soldier in WWII...becomes a Christian, marries, leaves Germany, emigrates to America, etc. Loved it.
Read
January 21, 2010My very Favorite books
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews