Cold War

Indiana Jones was involved in the Cold War.

The Cold War was a prolonged conflict in the 20th century between the dominant ideological superpowers of the time - the capitalist and democratic United States of America and its allies in Western Europe and the developed world, and the communist and socialist Soviet Union and its allies in Eastern Europe, Asia and Cuba. It started shortly after the end of World War II in 1945 as American and Soviet forces conquered and rebuilt former Nazi territories, and ended with the collapse of the Soviet Union and the fall of communism in Eastern Europe in the early 1990s.

While the "war" was not a series of active military battles, it was marked by several actual wars of proxy: the Korean War (in which a stalemate between the Communist northern forces and the American-allied southern forces led to the division of Korea in the early 1950s), the Vietnam War in the 1960s and 70s; as well as several confrontations that could have escalated into warfare, including the blockade of West Berlin and the Cuban Missle Crisis.

The United States and Soviet Union never went directly into military battle against each other, but competed in the development of their nuclear arsenals, the exploration of space, and attempts to stop the spread of competing ideologies in the developing world (Africa, Latin America, Asia).

In the United States in the 1950s, the fear of the Soviets and their communist ideology led to a revival of anti-communism in the United States, with Congress investigating supposed Un-American activities, the blacklisting of many in the entertainment and academic communities who had been accused of communist sympathies, and the FBI keeping files on many of its prominent citizens for potential communist connections. The events that occurred during this time period have been labeled McCarthyism, primarily due to the involvement of Wisconsin Senator Joseph McCarthy in these "witchhunts", while the fear of Communists infiltrating American institutions resulted in the Red Scare.

The Soviet Union tried to keep a technological edge against the United States, in weapons research, military spending, and even the development of psychic warfare.

Indiana Jones in the Cold War

In 1947, Indiana Jones was brought in to Soviet-controlled East Berlin to assist the Soviet recovery of Nazi artifacts and collaborated with Soviet major Nadia Kirov to prevent Nazi scientist Jager's plot to use the Philosopher's Stone.

Later that year, Jones and Sophia Hapgood reunited to help her employer, the CIA, to prevent the Soviets from getting their hands on a powerful ancient interdimensional device concealed in the Tower of Babel - only to realize that her boss wanted to use the machine against the Soviets.

Note: The following section is ambiguously canon.
It contains information that originates in a source that has not been deemed definitively canon.

Heat for Indiana Jones during the Cold War

Around 1948, Indiana Jones found himself attacked by MiG-15 jets while aboard a F-86 Sabre.

Ambiguously canon information ends here.

In 1957, Indiana Jones had been forced to help Irina Spalko and Antonin Dovchenko steal US government property from Hangar 51, until subsequently escaping from the Communist Forces. When FBI agents interrogated him about his role, they tried to accuse him of being affiliated with the Soviets, a charge that Jones' ally, General Bob Ross, dismissed. However, FBI pressure and allegations of Jones' allegiance may have resulted in the dismissal of Professor Jones from his position at Marshall College, which was a site of student-organized anti-Communist rallies. Later, after Spalko had been defeated, Jones' reputation was cleared, and he was reinstated at the college. Jones kept a few pieces of anti-Soviet propaganda in his journal.

By 1969, the American government had brought over former Nazis such as Jürgen Voller to assist with various projects such as the Apollo 11 program to enable them to get ahead of the Soviet Union. This was later achieved with Apollo 11 landing on the moon on the 24th of July, 1969. This was celebrated in the New York City Ticker Tape Parade that occured in the same year.

The Cold War finally came to an end in the 1990s.

Appearances

• Indiana Jones and the Iron Phoenix
• Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine
• Indiana Jones and the City of the Gods (Cancelled)
• Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
• Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull novel
• Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull comic
• Indiana Jones: The Search For Buried Treasure
• Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

Sources

• Who Are Those Guys? (Non-fiction source)
• The World of Indiana Jones
• Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine adventure guide/instruction booklet
• The Best Intentions - The Paris Peace Conference and the Treaty of Versailles (Non-fiction source)
• Indiana Jones: The Ultimate Guide
• The Lost Journal of Indiana Jones
•  Indiana Jones Movie Photo Cards (Card: Secrets of Akator)
•  Indiana Jones Masterpieces trading cards (Card: Like Ike, Hate Commies)