NATO's roots lay in the 1947 Anglo-French Treaty of Dunkirk, before the North Atlantic Treaty was signed in 1949. The Korean War exposed the need for working institutions: SHAPE followed in 1951 and a secretary-general in 1952. West Germany joined NATO on 6 May 1955, followed by the formal declaration of the Warsaw Pact on 14 May. Soviet-bloc command arrangements are interpreted as already substantially in place when that pact was declared, while NATO's practical organisation had developed more slowly. Formal treaty dates therefore give an incomplete picture of when an alliance becomes capable of coordinated action.
Notable Point · 11:54-14:51
NATO was still a young institution in 1956
NATO's practical institutions developed slowly, while Soviet-bloc command and coordination solidified more quickly around the Warsaw Pact.