In this work, Brecht does not use Nazi Germany as a backdrop, but the 17th century ‒ a century of greatness that began with Shakespeare and ended with Newton.

Mother Courage is a chronicle of the Thirty Years' War, which for the Germans is not just a war, as it devastated entire cities and annihilated a multitude of people. It was written in 1938-39 and premiered in Zurich in 1942.

Mother Courage follows the army with a wagon -canteen, selling supplies and drink for the soldiers. She loses both of her sons in the war. Her mute daughter, Kattrin, is shot dead while trying with a drum to send a message to the city of Halle about an impending attack.

Mother Courage is left alone with her wagon, old yet determined to continue her trade. Brecht highlights the absence of articulate speech, the acknowledgment of suffering, the silent acceptance of fate, and the inhumanity of man towards man, under the powerful lights of the theater.