From what I read recently, American self-defense laws require the threat to be immediate, you can't kill someone over what you fear he might do in the future or have already done. Also, it's 1949. I doubt the laws have caught up to the idea that some husbands really need killing. A wife killing her husband is the kind of thing that would have come under Petty Treason (under British common law before 1828 according to wikipedia), which was considered worse than simple murder.
Stupid Luck and Happenstance.
- Thread starter Peabody-Martini
- Start date
From what I read recently, American self-defense laws require the threat to be immediate, you can't kill someone over what you fear he might do in the future or have already done. Also, it's 1949. I doubt the laws have caught up to the idea that some husbands really need killing. A wife killing her husband is the kind of thing that would have come under Petty Treason (under British common law before 1828 according to wikipedia), which was considered worse than simple murder.
Don't care what they pay that man, they should double it.
While I would normal as they say 'ship' these two, but in this case it would be literal career suicide for Nancy. The phrase 'I do' doubles as a letter of resignation for women in the `40s, especially in the State Department.
FBKampfer
Banned
I would have thought that the US would insert agents via Russia.
IOTL for a supposedly advanced, modernized great power the USSR was awful at record keeping, and possibly the only area that government was both efficient and thorough in was destroying records it didn't like.
And ITTL it seemed like it was even more dysfunctional, add on top of that a change of the NKVD leadership, and purge in the NKVD, and Moscow burning, and records have to be dodgier than clearing a path through a minefield by laying on the ground and rolling across it.
That, and there were sizeable Eastern European expat communities in the US, coupled with the growing one in ITTL Germany.
Though on the other hand, racism.
IOTL for a supposedly advanced, modernized great power the USSR was awful at record keeping, and possibly the only area that government was both efficient and thorough in was destroying records it didn't like.
And ITTL it seemed like it was even more dysfunctional, add on top of that a change of the NKVD leadership, and purge in the NKVD, and Moscow burning, and records have to be dodgier than clearing a path through a minefield by laying on the ground and rolling across it.
That, and there were sizeable Eastern European expat communities in the US, coupled with the growing one in ITTL Germany.
Though on the other hand, racism.
I am thinking that at this point ITTL, there is not the alphabet soup of international organizations that are based in Vienna as IOTL.
With that in mind and from other posters speculation about this timeline's Vienna and Austria, there is not a lot of attention being paid by the Austrian government on who is coming and who is going, coupled with its location in Central Europe makes it easier to for the world's intelligence agencies to send an agent to Vienna then obtain another identity and from there to a third country.
As an example the British SIS want to put an agent in Italy, they first send John Smyth to Vienna to get another identity as Jack Jones, businessman from Ireland who then proceeds on his way to Italy.
With that in mind and from other posters speculation about this timeline's Vienna and Austria, there is not a lot of attention being paid by the Austrian government on who is coming and who is going, coupled with its location in Central Europe makes it easier to for the world's intelligence agencies to send an agent to Vienna then obtain another identity and from there to a third country.
As an example the British SIS want to put an agent in Italy, they first send John Smyth to Vienna to get another identity as Jack Jones, businessman from Ireland who then proceeds on his way to Italy.
For the first part, yes, but for all we know the man was working himself back into that rage.
Per the second part, it completely depends on the state. Especially if the man was known to be an hot tempered, violent man several states would quietly sweep that under the rug, or order not to convict.
That aside, she would from the perspective of the bosses in Washington be, quite literally, sleeping with the enemy.
Wait... Austria still has Trieste?
Could we please have a map of ITTL Europe?
Could we please have a map of ITTL Europe?
The Slovenes would probably have preferred staying with the Hapsburgs to being subsumed into either Italy or Croatia/Yugoslavia. By the late 1940s, agricultural modernisation will mean that Trieste is no longer demographically an Italian city as Slovenes and Croats migrate in off the farms. Admirals Unruh and von Trapp may still be in Austrian service or else very recently retired.
Probably still running Abwehr/BND operations out of John Dillinger's night club (V-8 Club?).
The cultural butterflies ITTL is enormous, first there is no Casablanca and now there is no The Sound of Music, what is my high school going to perform in my sophomore year?
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Oklahoma and West Side Story should be safe enough from marauding butterflies I would imagine. Not sure about Bugsy Malone, did we have Prohibition this TL? The Producers is gone as well. Maybe more Gilbert and Sullivan revivals?
Hogan's Heroes will not be made, The Best Years of Our Lives will be a German movie, I still think that because if the currency restrictions that happened IOTL is in force ITTL, the Hollywood studios in order to get their profits will bankroll movies made in Europe starring American actors like IOTL James Stewart in No Highway in the Sky which allowed MGM to use the money they earned in Great Britain.
Yeah, I do think we need a map of Europe.
spoeaking of old TV shows/actors, this TL needs some John Wayne awesomeness.
Yes he was born in 1907, but considering the POD is 1916, he could still be Marion Mitchell morrison in this TL....only difference is maybe he served in WW2
The United States only joined the Pacific War at the last minute so there is no massive build up of the U.S. Military as IOTL.
John Wayne along with Humphrey Bogart became big stars in the 40's IOTL because stars like Clark Gable, James Stewart, and Robert Montgomery were in the military.
Without the United States being ITTL wars, their careers would have continued uninterrupted.
Now my own interpretation and speculation is the American people supported the Germans and their allies in the right against Soviet Communism and Japanese expansionism, but the most important point is the American people were happy to be selling them the things to fight the wars and not having to go to war themselves.
Part 55, Chapter 759
Chapter Seven Hundred Fifty-Nine
8th October 1949
Tuscany, Italy
“It would be fun if they actually let you drive Duke” One of the extra’s said with a heavy Italian accent.
John had to agree with that but knew that the insurance company would throw a fit if he got into one of the high performance sportscars and drove it around the block. The Mercedes Benz touring car his character drove might not be a proper American Chevy sportster, but the small-block V8 under the hood wasn’t lacking in muscle. It was also his understanding was that is was made to keep up its speed in the twisty roads that the back country of Germany was known for. It was an extremely fun car despite the stuffy reputation of the country that built it.
John had been offered this role because of the prior films he’d starred in. Westerns mostly, that was why he had a reputation of being the all-American cowboy, but this was something different. It was a thriller set in the Tuscany region of Italy. An American tourist finds himself in a murky world of mafiosos and secret agents. The tourist, played by Greggory Peck, finds himself having to depend upon a mysterious American expat. John Wayne had been cast as the American expat, quite the departure for him, playing the real villain but that was the twist that was came at the end. He just knew that he was having fun making this movie. So, far he’d noticed a great deal was different from if this production were happening in Hollywood. Many of the details of the script added to the believability of the story, however they would have had every studio head screaming their heads off. People bleed when shot? Guns kill? Violence had consequences? Heaven forbid. It wasn’t like this was a movie being made for children.
As John watched the filming of the next scene began. The Benz made a tight turn on the narrow Italian street and raced away. The odd looking Italian police cars in hot pursuit raced by seconds later. The Director yelled for a cut. He might just need to buy one of those cars while he was in Europe after production ended. His understanding was that they were made in Stuttgart, only a few hours north of Tuscany.
Berlin
“Your impression?” Anton asked as Agnesa dried dishes and put them in the cupboard. Katherine and Douglas had just left minutes earlier.
“She’s lovely and they are nice couple, very much in love” Agnesa replied, “But I think she can be a jealous woman, any other woman who looks at her husband twice is going to be in serious trouble.”
“Takes one to know one” Anton said with a smile.
Agnesa looked at him with narrowed eyes, suggesting that he’d hit the mark.
They’d been married for thirty years and while Agnesa lacked Anton’s education and training. He’d found her opinions and impressions of individuals he worked with useful, she frequently saw things he might have missed. It helped that she looked at things from an outsider’s perspective. Agnesa’s background was Albanian and Her family had emigrated from there just before the First World War.
“Anything else” Anton asked.
“Katherine doesn’t trust you.”
“That’s hardly a surprise” Anton said with a bit of amusement.
“You didn’t notice how she reached for that small knife that she wears in the small of her back every time you stepped close.”
Anton hadn’t noticed that or the knife for that matter. “I believe that she does that with any man who she doesn’t know well enough” He said, “She got messed up years ago in a terrible situation.”
“Does that have any bearing on the present?”
“When I was asked to be her trainer I was told that if I felt it did then I’m to fail her immediately” Anton said.
Agnesa paused in what she was doing, that answer surprised her.
“What are you going to do?” Agnesa asked.
“It’s only been a week and she’s promising, but it remains to be seen if she put her past aside enough to do the job” Anton replied, “I’ve yet to see her in a situation that might really set her off.”
“But you know it’s coming?”
“That is totally inevitable” Anton said, “I need to be prepared for it when it comes.”
Vienna
It was fortunate that being a translator for the Ambassador required that she always have her wits about her. A diplomatic incident caused by a mistranslation because the translator was sloshed would be considered a problem. That meant that she had a good excuse to refrain while most of the world’s diplomacy was well lubricated with alcohol. After she been sick and hungover months earlier she’d held to her promise to never do that again. That did however mean that she needed to be in the presence of Ambassador Smith as he went out with a couple members of the Austrian Federal Council. Quartet recital followed by a reception, the first part had not meant a whole lot to the Ambassador, his tastes ran more towards the Grand Ole Opry than Classical but in the second part he’d been in his element.
Afterwards, in the car ride back to the Embassy had been things had taken an awkward turn. Blare Smith, the Ambassador’s wife had started that conversation.
“Who’s this suitor I’ve been hearing about” Blare asked, “Only a few days in Austria, the secretaries think that is some sort of record.”
“Tilo is a friend, hardly a suitor” Nancy said, “I know him from when I was going to the University in Berlin.”
“What’s this friend like?” Ambassador Smith asked, with a smirk.
Nancy frowned, “He is still going to University in Berlin, his entire education got put aside when he got conscripted and sent to the Pacific” She said, “Everyone assumes that I’m in a relationship with him, but I know it would be inappropriate. He’s way older than me.”
“How much older?” Blare asked.
“Three years” Nancy said.
Both the Ambassador and his wife laughed at that.
“Nancy, when you are on the other side of fifty like Earl and I, three years is nothing” Blair said with a smile.
Here Nancy was trying to bury the rumors that Tilo was anything more than a friend, but it wasn’t working. The situation was maddening.
8th October 1949
Tuscany, Italy
“It would be fun if they actually let you drive Duke” One of the extra’s said with a heavy Italian accent.
John had to agree with that but knew that the insurance company would throw a fit if he got into one of the high performance sportscars and drove it around the block. The Mercedes Benz touring car his character drove might not be a proper American Chevy sportster, but the small-block V8 under the hood wasn’t lacking in muscle. It was also his understanding was that is was made to keep up its speed in the twisty roads that the back country of Germany was known for. It was an extremely fun car despite the stuffy reputation of the country that built it.
John had been offered this role because of the prior films he’d starred in. Westerns mostly, that was why he had a reputation of being the all-American cowboy, but this was something different. It was a thriller set in the Tuscany region of Italy. An American tourist finds himself in a murky world of mafiosos and secret agents. The tourist, played by Greggory Peck, finds himself having to depend upon a mysterious American expat. John Wayne had been cast as the American expat, quite the departure for him, playing the real villain but that was the twist that was came at the end. He just knew that he was having fun making this movie. So, far he’d noticed a great deal was different from if this production were happening in Hollywood. Many of the details of the script added to the believability of the story, however they would have had every studio head screaming their heads off. People bleed when shot? Guns kill? Violence had consequences? Heaven forbid. It wasn’t like this was a movie being made for children.
As John watched the filming of the next scene began. The Benz made a tight turn on the narrow Italian street and raced away. The odd looking Italian police cars in hot pursuit raced by seconds later. The Director yelled for a cut. He might just need to buy one of those cars while he was in Europe after production ended. His understanding was that they were made in Stuttgart, only a few hours north of Tuscany.
Berlin
“Your impression?” Anton asked as Agnesa dried dishes and put them in the cupboard. Katherine and Douglas had just left minutes earlier.
“She’s lovely and they are nice couple, very much in love” Agnesa replied, “But I think she can be a jealous woman, any other woman who looks at her husband twice is going to be in serious trouble.”
“Takes one to know one” Anton said with a smile.
Agnesa looked at him with narrowed eyes, suggesting that he’d hit the mark.
They’d been married for thirty years and while Agnesa lacked Anton’s education and training. He’d found her opinions and impressions of individuals he worked with useful, she frequently saw things he might have missed. It helped that she looked at things from an outsider’s perspective. Agnesa’s background was Albanian and Her family had emigrated from there just before the First World War.
“Anything else” Anton asked.
“Katherine doesn’t trust you.”
“That’s hardly a surprise” Anton said with a bit of amusement.
“You didn’t notice how she reached for that small knife that she wears in the small of her back every time you stepped close.”
Anton hadn’t noticed that or the knife for that matter. “I believe that she does that with any man who she doesn’t know well enough” He said, “She got messed up years ago in a terrible situation.”
“Does that have any bearing on the present?”
“When I was asked to be her trainer I was told that if I felt it did then I’m to fail her immediately” Anton said.
Agnesa paused in what she was doing, that answer surprised her.
“What are you going to do?” Agnesa asked.
“It’s only been a week and she’s promising, but it remains to be seen if she put her past aside enough to do the job” Anton replied, “I’ve yet to see her in a situation that might really set her off.”
“But you know it’s coming?”
“That is totally inevitable” Anton said, “I need to be prepared for it when it comes.”
Vienna
It was fortunate that being a translator for the Ambassador required that she always have her wits about her. A diplomatic incident caused by a mistranslation because the translator was sloshed would be considered a problem. That meant that she had a good excuse to refrain while most of the world’s diplomacy was well lubricated with alcohol. After she been sick and hungover months earlier she’d held to her promise to never do that again. That did however mean that she needed to be in the presence of Ambassador Smith as he went out with a couple members of the Austrian Federal Council. Quartet recital followed by a reception, the first part had not meant a whole lot to the Ambassador, his tastes ran more towards the Grand Ole Opry than Classical but in the second part he’d been in his element.
Afterwards, in the car ride back to the Embassy had been things had taken an awkward turn. Blare Smith, the Ambassador’s wife had started that conversation.
“Who’s this suitor I’ve been hearing about” Blare asked, “Only a few days in Austria, the secretaries think that is some sort of record.”
“Tilo is a friend, hardly a suitor” Nancy said, “I know him from when I was going to the University in Berlin.”
“What’s this friend like?” Ambassador Smith asked, with a smirk.
Nancy frowned, “He is still going to University in Berlin, his entire education got put aside when he got conscripted and sent to the Pacific” She said, “Everyone assumes that I’m in a relationship with him, but I know it would be inappropriate. He’s way older than me.”
“How much older?” Blare asked.
“Three years” Nancy said.
Both the Ambassador and his wife laughed at that.
“Nancy, when you are on the other side of fifty like Earl and I, three years is nothing” Blair said with a smile.
Here Nancy was trying to bury the rumors that Tilo was anything more than a friend, but it wasn’t working. The situation was maddening.
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From the glimpses and glances I am getting it seems to me that there is a growing feeling among the American people that they are missing out on a lot of things that Europe is now enjoying.
They are now seeing movies made in Europe that treats the audience as adults and are more sophisticated and realistic then anything coming out of Hollywood.
From meeting tourists visiting from Europe, Americans are learning that they are considered to be a provincial backwater people who are stuck in the past.
This feeling will lead some Americans to demand the opening of society to new ideas while others will try to double down on the current restrictions.
They are now seeing movies made in Europe that treats the audience as adults and are more sophisticated and realistic then anything coming out of Hollywood.
From meeting tourists visiting from Europe, Americans are learning that they are considered to be a provincial backwater people who are stuck in the past.
This feeling will lead some Americans to demand the opening of society to new ideas while others will try to double down on the current restrictions.
Are you sure you mean Albanian and not Armenian?!
Otherwise here family hailing from Anatolia makes less sense.
Say hello to Mother Teresa (or did she become the head of the Albanian Mafia like Peabody-Martini was threatening to do?).
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