1.5.3

The Formation of NATO, April 1949

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The Formation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) April 1949

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was formed in April 1949 to provide collective security for Western European states against the USSR.

Illustrative background for The formation of NATOIllustrative background for The formation of NATO ?? "content

The formation of NATO

  • As a result of the Berlin blockade, Western European states felt they needed to have collective security against the USSR.
  • This was strongly supported by the USA who wanted to prevent any communist power advancing in Europe and it also wanted to make sure that Europe could govern and protect itself.
  • 10 European states, as well as Canada and USA, joined NATO. For the USA, NATO provided a strong way to prevent communism from spreading, strengthen Europe against communism and it would complement its policy of containment.
Illustrative background for USSR reactionIllustrative background for USSR reaction ?? "content

USSR reaction

  • The USSR saw the formation of NATO as an open act of aggression against them. The USSR suggested it was simply an act to strengthen Western capitalism and were outraged at the suggestion that they would use military strength to threaten any country in Europe.
  • NATO, in the eyes of the USSR, demonstrated US military force being used in Europe to secure their own dominance.

Historical interpretation

  • Historian John Lewis Gaddis in The Cold War: A New History argues that, 'the events in Prague, together with the Berlin blockade, convinced the European recipients of American economic assistance that they needed military protection as well: that led them to request the creation of a North Atlantic Treaty Organization, which committed the United States for the first time ever to the peacetime defence of Western Europe.'

Jump to other topics

1Origins of the Cold War, 1945-9

2Widening of the Cold War

3The Global War

4Confrontation & Cooperation

5Brezhnev Era

6Ending of the Cold War

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