Title:

Mother Night

Author:

Kurt Vonnegut

Category:

Literature

Rating:

Date Reviewed:

August 22, 2025

other Night is the confession of Howard Campbell Jr., written in first person. Campbell explains how, during WWII, he came to be an American working for the Nazis. It was his job to make radio broadcasts filled with the worst Nazi propaganda against Jews, communists, and anyone else. But what only three people in the world knew is that Campbell was actually an agent for the United States. Hidden within his radio broadcasts were code words and signals that delivered vital information to the US intelligence service. Campbell was a spy.

Now the war is over, and Campbell sits in an Israeli prison where he will be tried for war crimes. Campbell writes his story. He freely admits that he created those terrible radio broadcasts (how could he deny it?). The problem is, the shadowy operative, US Colonel Frank Wirtanan (whom Campbell calls his Blue Fairy Godmother) who recruited Campbell and deciphered his coded messages, is no where to be found. There is no one to back up Campbell's claim that he was really working for the Americans all along.

Campbell writes his confession in the Israeli prison. We learn that prior to the war, Campbell was an accomplished author of plays - he was quite good at inventing dramatic tales that appealed to many people.. He was in love with his wife, Helga, (who disappears during the war when Russia attacks Germany and is presumed to be dead.) But when Colonel Wirtanen asked him to be an agent, he agreed despite the danger. After WWII ends, Wirtanen manages to conduct Campbell to safety, giving him a new identity and relocating him to New York City. Campbell makes friends with another tenant in the apartment building, but this new friend betrays Campbell's confidences, and the world learns that the notorious Nazi propagandist is alive and well in NYC. Naturally, this draws the attention of various White Supremacist groups, who delighted in his radio broadcasts and believe that he is one of them. An unsavory cast of American haters are drawn to Campbell's doorstep, he is a hero in their eyes - they believe he hates the Jews as much as they do.

Revealing Campbell's identity also alerts other people to his existence, such as the American soldier who captured him after the war and regretted that he didn't simply execute Campbell on the spot. Why is Campbell allowed to live in New York City after the crimes he committed? Other people who knew Campbell before the war reappear in his life. And of course, the Israelis capture him and spirit him to Jerusalem to stand trial.

Vonnegut writes in a deceptively simple style, everything has a breezy undertone, even when talking about serious subjects. This isn't a funny book, but I think Vonnegut is asking a difficult question: if the story of Campbell happened in reality, would he be guilty of war crimes? There is no doubting that Campbell worked with the Nazi's. But if you are doing evil deeds only to fool bad people in the service of a greater cause, are you still responsible for your crimes? Vonnegut says that the moral of this story is: "You are what you pretend to be, so be careful about who you pretend to be."

The story is told in first person, as if Campbell wrote it while imprisoned in Jerusalem. I think Vonnegut wants us to consider that Campbell may be lying. Maybe there never was a Colonel Wirtanen. Campbell never provides any examples of vital, coded information that he passed along in his radio broadcasts - perhaps the sniffs, coughs and grunts were simply that, not coded messages. Campbell might be lying. This book is about moral ambiguity, so Vonnegut leaves to the reader to decide if Campbell is actually guilty.