{"id":38573,"date":"2026-06-18T09:09:49","date_gmt":"2026-06-18T14:09:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lincolndemocrat.com\/?p=38573"},"modified":"2026-06-18T09:58:14","modified_gmt":"2026-06-18T14:58:14","slug":"sharing-an-ai-link","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lincolndemocrat.com\/?p=38573","title":{"rendered":"Nixon bio prompts search on post war films (Sharing an AI link?) I think not"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last Post: Chats with AI: History and Candor<\/a>
\nNext Post:<\/p>\n

I posted a link to this morning’s AI search. It was an experiment that failed. It took visitors to my actual Co Pilot site allowing anyone to see and also alter my history of chats with Co Pilot. So, rather than do that I’ve just copied today’s conversation which began when I was reading my Nixon Bio by Irwin F. Gellman<\/a>. It was a chapter on the Herter Commission that I was plodding through until it got to the commission itself and then completely absorbed me. <\/em><\/p>\n

It tied direcetly into the book I read between the Truman and Eisenhower Tomes. By the author Hitchcock who also wrote the book on Ike, Bitter Road to Freedom<\/a> is about the desperation of Western Europe immediately after the war. It seconded everything that historian David McCullough praised Truman’s post-war actions and reinforced Eisenhower’s continuation of Truman’s post war work. Only this gave me recent Navy man and new Congressman Richard Nixon’s view from Congress where he was serving his first term of office. The Herter Commission was sent for the month of September 1947 to visit a half dozen war ravaged nations two years after war’s end. <\/p>\n

Nixon knew his California constituents were skeptical of helping the Europeans but his hearings on Communist influence and sometimes control of American Unions made him suspicious of Russian influence. In Europe he got a close look at both the desperation of the peoples of Great Britain, France, Italy, Triest and Greece. In Triest he saw a bomb thrown at a group of people protesting a militant communist march passing under his hotel window the day that 2,000 soldiers from Yugoslavia attempted to enter the city to take it over. They were stopped by a contingent of American troops. <\/p>\n

The particular question I asked Google to start my converstaion was about one of my favorite movies that was actually shot in war ravaged Europe. <\/p>\n

Here is the question I first put to CoPilot Microsoft’s AI:<\/strong><\/p>\n

When was the story The Third Man set in Austria? What years?<\/strong><\/p>\n

(Co Pilot) Short answer: The story of The Third Man is set in post?World War II, Allied?occupied Vienna, specifically in the period just after 1945 and before 1950, with most sources placing the setting in the late 1940s.<\/p>\n

The novella and film are both explicitly situated in post?war Vienna, a city divided among the four Allied powers (U.S., U.K., France, USSR). This occupation period lasted from 1945 to 1955, and the story takes place during its early, chaotic years. <\/p>\n

What the sources indicate
\nThe novella is described as being set in post?World War II Vienna, meaning after 1945. <\/p>\n

The film is likewise set in Allied?occupied Vienna, which places it in the late 1940s, consistent with its 1949 release and the real conditions of the city at that time. <\/p>\n

Most precise interpretation
\nWhile neither source gives an exact in?story year, the internal details (ruined city, active black market, four?power occupation, penicillin racket) align with approximately 1947\u20131949.<\/p>\n

If you’d like, I can also break down how the historical events of Vienna during those years map onto the plot, or explore how accurately the film portrays the occupation period.<\/p>\n

MY SECOND QUESTION: <\/strong><\/p>\n

What other late 1940’s American movies were set in war-torn settings in Europe?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Several late?1940s American films were set in war?torn or recently war?affected Europe, though the search results mostly list wartime films rather than postwar ones. Still, a few relevant titles emerge from the period.<\/p>\n

Most relevant late?1940s American films set in war?damaged Europe
\nThese films were produced in the 1940s and set in European locations affected by World War II:<\/p>\n

Night Train to Munich<\/strong> \u2014 Set in Czechoslovakia and Britain during the German invasion; although released in 1940, it depicts the turmoil of occupied Europe. <\/p>\n

The Mortal Storm<\/strong> \u2014 Set in an Alpine village as Nazism fractures families and communities. <\/p>\n

The Long Voyage Home<\/strong> \u2014 Follows a merchant crew facing the dangers of war in the Atlantic and Europe. <\/p>\n

Night Train to Munich<\/strong> \u2014 Intelligence services battle over a scientist in a Europe already destabilized by war. <\/p>\n

Important note
\nThe search results did not surface many explicitly post?war (1946\u20131949) American films set in ruined European cities like The Third Man. Most films listed are early?1940s wartime productions, not late?1940s depictions of postwar devastation.<\/p>\n

If you want, I can produce a curated list of genuinely late?1940s American films set in postwar Europe\u2014including titles like Berlin Express (1948) and The Search (1948)\u2014which did not appear in the search results but are historically relevant. Would you like that?<\/p>\n

MY THIRD QUESTION: <\/p>\n

Yes, with the emphasis on post war settings. Also check for European films shot post war in such settings even if they bleed into the early 1950’s.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Short answer: A rich group of late?1940s and early?1950s films\u2014American and European\u2014were set and shot amid the real ruins of post?WWII Europe, often using bombed?out cities as authentic backdrops. The most important examples fall into two categories: American productions filmed in postwar Europe and European neorealist works made on location during reconstruction.<\/p>\n

?? American films (late 1940s) set and often shot in war?torn postwar Europe
\nThese films explicitly depict occupied or devastated European cities and are grounded in the immediate aftermath of WWII.<\/p>\n

A Foreign Affair<\/strong> (1948, Billy Wilder) \u2014 Set in occupied Berlin; shot amid real ruins including the Brandenburg Gate. <\/p>\n

Berlin Express<\/strong> (1948, Jacques Tourneur) \u2014 Filmed in the rubble of Frankfurt and Berlin, requiring negotiation with all four occupying powers. <\/p>\n

The Third Man<\/strong> (1949, Carol Reed) \u2014 Set in four?sector Vienna, filmed partly in the city\u2019s actual ruins and sewers. <\/p>\n

These three are the core American postwar?Europe films of the period\u2014each using real destroyed urban landscapes as narrative texture.<\/p>\n

?????? European films (late 1940s\u2013early 1950s) shot in real postwar conditions
\nEuropean filmmakers, especially Italian neorealists, produced some of the most vivid portrayals of devastated cities and societies.<\/p>\n

Ladri di biciclette (Bicycle Thieves<\/strong>, 1948, Vittorio De Sica) \u2014 Shot entirely on location in postwar Rome, using non?actors to capture economic desperation. <\/p>\n

Germania anno zero (Germany Year Zero,<\/strong> 1948, Roberto Rossellini) \u2014 Filmed in the ruins of Berlin; though not in the search results, it is historically one of the most important postwar?ruin films.<\/p>\n

Umberto D<\/strong>. (1952, De Sica) \u2014 Early?1950s Rome still visibly marked by wartime poverty.<\/p>\n

La terra trema<\/strong> (1948, Visconti) \u2014 Not urban?ruin focused, but part of the same neorealist movement documenting postwar hardship.<\/p>\n

Les Maudits<\/strong> (1947, Ren\u00e9 Cl\u00e9ment) \u2014 A French thriller reflecting immediate postwar tensions.<\/p>\n

? Why these films matter
\nAcross both American and European productions, these works share several defining traits:<\/p>\n

Authentic ruined locations \u2014 Berlin, Vienna, Frankfurt, and Rome appear as they truly were: shattered, hungry, and divided.<\/p>\n

Themes of occupation, reconstruction, and moral ambiguity \u2014 Black markets, displaced persons, and uneasy alliances dominate the narratives.<\/p>\n

Early Cold War atmosphere \u2014 Many films reflect the emerging East\u2013West divide (e.g., The Third Man, Berlin Express).<\/p>\n

? If you want, I can also build a ranked list of:
\nthe most historically accurate postwar?Europe films,<\/p>\n

the best noir?style occupation dramas, or<\/p>\n

the most important neorealist works of the era.<\/p>\n

Which direction would you like to explore next?<\/p>\n

Continue the conversation<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Last Post: Chats with AI: History and Candor Next Post: I posted a link to this morning’s AI search. It was an experiment that…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[166,95,35,75,25],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lincolndemocrat.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38573"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lincolndemocrat.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lincolndemocrat.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lincolndemocrat.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lincolndemocrat.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=38573"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/lincolndemocrat.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38573\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":38582,"href":"https:\/\/lincolndemocrat.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38573\/revisions\/38582"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lincolndemocrat.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=38573"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lincolndemocrat.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=38573"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lincolndemocrat.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=38573"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}