Germany is a country in the northern part of central Europe, and has been a major industrial country for much of the twentieth century. Home to many influential philosophers, scientists, and artists throughout its history, Germany became increasingly significant in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
History
Unified in 1871, from a group of principalities and states after the Franco-Prussian War by Otto van Bismarck, the German Empire encompassed modern-day Germany as well as parts of Poland, and the region of Alsace-Lorrain. At the beginning of the 20th century, German colonies had been established in several parts of the world (including German East Africa).
Germany was drawn into World War I due to its alliances with Austria-Hungary, and was one of the major Central Powers, fighting against France, and overtaking Belgium. Indiana Jones fought in World War I against German forces in Europe and Africa. After the Battle of the Somme, Jones was captured and taken to a German prison camp, but later escaped. After fighting in German East Africa, Jones later returned to Europe and operated as an intelligence agent, often traveling into Germany on missions.
At the end of the war, Germany underwent a revolution, and eventually a republic form of government was set up (Weimar Republic) in 1919.
After the Treaty of Versailles, Germany was forced to admit guilt and pay massive reparations for World War I, and lost several pieces of territory, including Alsace-Lorrain, and parts given to Poland and Denmark. The Weimar Republic was further weakened by the Great Depression and political power began to slip to the Nazi and Communist parties. By early 1933, Adolf Hitler, leader of the National Socialist German Workers' Party, had been appointed Chancellor by President Paul von Hindenburg, a Grand Marshal and like Hitler, a veteran of World War I. Hindenburg would die in 1934, after which Hitler combined the offices to create the title Führer und Reichskanzler.
From 1933 to 1945, Germany was led by the National Socialist Workers' Party or "Nazis". In the 1930s, the Nazis frequently proved to be arch-adversaries to freedom and Indiana Jones, as he encountered them in his search for both the Ark of the Covenant and the Holy Grail, as well as many other adventures too. This was because Germany's Führer, Adolf Hitler, wanted any sacred artifact that would make his armed forces invincible.
In 1938, Jones and his father, Henry Jones, Sr., traveled across Germany from Castle Brunwald on the Austrian border to Berlin in order to retrieve his father's Grail diary. They later escaped from Berlin in a Zeppelin.
In 1939, Germany invaded Poland, starting World War II. Jones joined the war effort against the Nazis, and served as an intelligence agent in Berlin and Flensburg. After Germany's defeat in World War II in 1945, Germany was divided and administered by the Allied forces. Sections controlled the Americans, British, and French became a republic known as West Germany, while the Soviet controlled sector became a Communist state known as East Germany. The former capital, Berlin, despite being firmly within East Germany, was also divided into zones of control, and West Berlin was part of West Germany. After the fall of the Berlin Wall (decline of communism), Germany was re-united in 1990.
Locations
Notable Germans
- Bertolt Brecht
- Herman Dietrich
- Gobler
- Adolf Hitler
- Kahnweiler
- Albert Schweitzer
- Arnold Ernst Toht
- Ernst Vogel
- Magnus Völler
- Gustav von Trappen
Appearances
- Young Indiana Jones and the Princess of Peril (Mentioned only)
- The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles – "Germany, Mid-August 1916" → Trenches of Hell
- The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles – "Berlin, Late August 1916" (Cancelled)
- The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles – "Young Indiana Jones and the Attack of the Hawkmen" → Attack of the Hawkmen
- Instruments of Chaos starring Young Indiana Jones
- Raiders of the Lost Ark novel (First appearance)
- Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
- Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade novel