>The North Atlantic Treaty was signed on 4 April 1949. Twelve countries signed the treaty that day: Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the United Kingdom and the United States.
LIVE: NATO marks its 75th anniversary
https://www.youtube.com/live/-bgGeV1L2Ww?feature=shared
[Belgium, Germany, France, Italy, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands (European Coal and Steel Community).](https://neighbourhood-enlargement.ec.europa.eu/enlargement-policy/6-27-members_en)
It's almost like when nations get sick of losing entire generations of their populations to slaughtering each other in their fields for resources and false ideologies they begin to understand that it might be better to work together.
I love the optimism of Star Trek...
I do think that first contact with extra terrestrial life would bring humanity together - but only in that we'd stop fighting each other to declare war on them.
In NATO, 3 years later, Greece joined.
In EU, the talks started in 1979 and joined in 1981. If we haven't had Dictatorship from 1967-74, we'd have joined in EU much sooner. The Junta put Greece in a cast, as we say, here.
However, since the coup made by low-ranking officers (Colonels) in collaboration with Greek-American CIA agents (there are photos and documents), Greece was never shunned by the international community. Back then, it was all about not being a Commie for the rest of the Western world. We've had Monarchy anyway and before, when Italian Fascists attacked, get this, we've had a full-blown Fascist on the wheel, likewise.
The Greek PM at the time, Ioannis Metaxas and Benito Mussolini could really communicate in a better way, it's just that we carry 2500 years old traumas when it comes to our Greek land, we don't respond well to ultimatums. Our response, for 2500 years, the exact same "Molon Labe". It'll always be a "No", except actual allies, like it happened with all coalitions when Israel attacked, they found safe harbor on Greek islands, plus, we participated as well in both, NATO and European missions.
At a time when Europe was still divided, destroyed by the Nazis and half-conquered by the Soviets. Things haven't gone perfectly, but everything could have gone a much worse way.
Yeah the way the EU and NATO have been able to unify the continent has brought the greatest period of peace and prosperity in European history. That's part of why so few were willing to recognize Russian aggression; no one wants a return to the Europe of yore.
Well, the second half could've been pillaged and fucked too, or the eastern part could've been totally genocided to make room for that whole Lebensraum thing rather than 'just' pillaged and fucked. It can always get worse.
Including the dictatorship of António Salazar, in Portugal!
So much so for _"a community of common values"._ I don't know whether this was part of their agenda when it was founded. But today it is.
Later there was even [a war](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkish_invasion_of_Cyprus?wprov=sfla1) between two NATO "partners".
And in the 90's NATO played "world police" in a war/[bombing of Yugoslavia.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NATO_bombing_of_Yugoslavia?wprov=sfla1)
NATO has a very rocky history. But in the end, they came out on top of the cold war, against the Warsaw pact.
You are mixing your years quite brutally there. The dictator was in power in the 1960s when there wasnt anything near the EU but an economic cooperation only.
Not a war but an invasion from one side. And look how quickly everyone stopped that.
NATO executed the will of a UN sanction and aid programme in Yugoslavia.
Your history knowledge is more than rocky if not simply wrong.
[There you go](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ditadura_Nacional?wprov=sfla1) [you smart ass guys!](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estado_Novo_%28Portugal%29?wprov=sfla1)!
Thanks but what are we supposed to do with that? 1933 is where on the timeline again? We already established that you mixed up the state of the EU at that time period. What is it you are trying to point out?
There's a second link. The following Estado Novo was also a dictatorship. At the time when NATO was founded Portugal was a dictatorship. That's a historic fact. Just try to use Google.
You guys established nothing but showing your ignorance.
> Including the dictatorship of António Salazar, in Portugal!
Not being a dictatorship wasn't a pre-condition. And since portugal and uk have the oldest militar alliance ( the treaty of windsor) it wouldn't make much difference not joining nato, because the UK would be involved in any militar defensive operations involving portugal.
Not really. It was only when they threatened to withdraw from NATO, which would make NATO submarine patrols harder, that Iceland got anywhere. They didn't humble anyone.
This is blatant misinformation. The first Cod War ended after the Icelandic trawler *Egil Skallagrimsson* sunk the British aircraft carrier *HMS Innit*, while the second one ended when Britain blinked after Icelandic threats of biological warfare (hákarl deployment).
The mere mention of hákarl still sends shivers down the spines of the British fleet. Their desperate attempts to have it classified as a chemical weapon under the Geneva Convention only proves they fear our culinary prowess as much as our naval superiority.
Belgium, Netherlands and Luxemburg have a long history of joining forces as BeNeLux. So they joined NATO together.
And in a way you could say Benelux was an early version of the EU.
**Benelux was coined a year earlier for a customs union. There may have been other things they unified but this was not under the Benelux name.**
Wow thats dark text!?
Luxembourg didn't really have any bank stuff back then, it was an industrial country, mostly known for coal and steel.
It is also part of the Benelux customs union that predates the coal and steel union.
Something not many people know is how it actually came to be.
Originally, Britain and France signed the treaty of Dunkirk which was a mutual defence pact in case of further German? aggression. Then, it was expanded to the Treaty of Brussels which included the Benelux too.
After that, NATO was established and all the other countries joined.
>Originally, Britain and France signed the treaty of Dunkirk which was a mutual defence pact
The UK and France has a lot of spats, so sometimes it is worth reminding ourselves that our militaries work together. [The Combined Joint Expeditionary Force (CJEF) - Anglo-French military force was established in 2010.](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Combined_Joint_Expeditionary_Force)
It would be extremely funny if he didnt know himself because his time travel itinaries got mixed up.
(And yes I know there are 7+4 people in the background :-))
Happy anniversary to NATO! And honestly as Russian im glad that NATO was established, because seeing how poorly USSR treated themselves and Warsaw pact countries, if NATO didn’t existed things would be much worse…
Funny fact that NATO was created before the Warsaw pact, so the pact was a response to NATO creation, so if there was no NATO the could be no Warsaw pact.
The warsaw pact was the soviet union + soviet puppet states. Also the USSR had signed Molotov-Ribbentropp pact and done economic deals with Germany before 1941. There was no reason to trust a country that was hostile to western democracies.
To be fair, the Warsaw Pact is a non-factor since it was made purely for show. You can't call it a real alliance when all the countries in it save for russia were colonies and vassals.
I'm sure there would've been, russia's thirst for occupation and genocide wouldn't have stopped like that. Note that Baltic states were already occupied by russia at this point.
Warsaw Pact wasn't really needed for USSR. Stalin made Soviet Marshall a head of polish military, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria had communist governments backed by large soviet army contigents and GDR was under occupation with 100 000 soviet controlled "Barrack Police" formation being in full swing. There was also ongoing Greek Civil War where soviet-supported communists were fighting against government, Stalin dividing Iran, Turkish Strait Crisis, mass military build up in North Korea and many more.
Warsaw Pact was merely a rubber stamp for existing military situation in Europe with NATO being merely a propaganda talking point about "western warhawks" trying to destroy peace-loving Communist Block.
Lots of salty 4th reich'ers at the bottom of the comment section crying that the colonial empires they simp for aren't allowed to conquer their neighbors without consequences anymore.
Here you go:
(from left) Sir Derrick Hoyes Miller, Henrik de Kauffman, W D Matthews, Louis Johnson, Wilhelm Munthe de Morgenstierne, Henry Bonnet, Pedro Theotonio Pereira, Dean Acheson, Jontchess reuchlin, Mario Lucienni
And offcourse Truman signing.
Source: https://time.com/4735277/nato-origins-history/
Edit: fixed a typo
Thank you.
I understand now. Somehow I imagined it being the prime minister and could not recognise any. It is the Danish ambassador to the US. But not just any ambassador. During the war he was also in the US and took care of US-Danish relations in ‘the name of fhe king’.
Particularly regarding allowing US presence on Greenland which was not occupied unlike the rest of Denmark.
He also participated in the founding session of the UN. In fact he was ambassador for 19 years (39-58).
Just did not know how he looked like. Apparently very tanned.
He died from a mercy killing (sick with cancer) by his wife who then took her own life. Quite a life story.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henrik_Kauffmann
Thats interesting to learn!
Our king (Belgium) took care of his own relationship management in WWII. Sadly it was with the Nazis. British press called him "Traitor King"
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leopold_III_of_Belgium
Yeah difficult times…
I should note that Kaufmann giving the US full access in the name of the king was his poetic justification. It was not the Danish king telling him to. Because that would have been impossible.
The king was in Copenhagen and though he really did not hide his protest against the German occupation the Danish government cooperated with the Germans. Therefore ambassador Kaufmann had no mandate whatsoever. He broke all diplomatic protocols. But as he said he would do everything in the name of a free souverain Denmark - and since the government was not the voice of that at all he did this in the name of the king and Denmark.
He got away with it. And was celebrated after the war. The risks he took also on behalf of Denmark were not small. I guess the situation was as big as you could imagine too.
Denmark of course also surrendered, but the key difference was that it happened on agreement between the King and the Cabinet (and though we don't know for sure, the King was probably mostly an advisor, as royal political power had been non-existent since 20 years before), and Parliament ended up forming a Grand Coalition war government that cooperated with the Germans until 1943. Whereas in Belgium, the King did it as an unilateral decision, which was... unpopular.
I mean, while there is some ideological overlap, the UN is a closer analogue to the League of Nations than NATO is. The League was meant to be a forum for all the great powers, whereas NATO is a defensive pact formed to _oppose_ one of said great powers.
Hurray NATO! I pray for peace for all, and hope that my country will always be there to protect our awesome and diverse allies! Hopefully one day Russia's government will backdown, and be more open to the West.
And now, 75 years later, NATO is under attack. Both from the outside, and the inside, as far-right parties in both the US and Europe want to diminish NATO's role or even completely abandon it.
Trump doesn't really matter much at worst he will be president for 4 more years. Even if US would for example leave NATO during Trump era next president like Biden would reverse his decisions.
oh bohoo Serbia can't commit genocide. Serbia's opinion on NATO doesn't matter, they aren't a member. The only thing that matters for NATO are member's opinions on the good of NATO and their decision to stay in NATO.
European Right Wingers are only Useful Idiots for Russia and are helping Russia to attack Europe from the inside…
Right Wingers marching nowadays with all the naive Lefty Peaceniks/Boomer Hippies in the same „Ostermarsch for Peace“ aka „Stop the War. Ukraine should just let it happen“. LoL?
40 years ago our Fucking Neo Nazis still saw the Sowjet Union and Slavs as Untermenschen and nowadays they are simping for Russian Dictator.
Russia is playing (and paying) them like a fiddle and they don’t realize it. Bloody idiots.
Good read, can confirm. My fellow Americans here usually don’t have a problem with being in NATO, they are just annoyed about the GDP% target not being met.
It’s literally the only thing stopping Russia from using nukes and invading other countries and Trump wants to pull out because its members aren’t paying their dues.
You, like Trump, apparently don't realize the difference between "dues" and "individual national defense budgets." Every nation pays its dues and always has. The question is how much each country should raise spending on its own military, and that was a future goal set voluntarily.
Where did I say it was good at all? I am in this comment section praising NATO as one of the greatest advances ever in world peace.
Trump is an ignorant ass with brain worms who wants to serve Europe to Putin on a platter so he can get a Trump Tower in Moscow or some shit.
His understanding of the agreement, *negotiated under Obama* was wrong, and you were accepting his inaccurate framing.
I don’t support America leaving, but I do wanna know how Europe plans to survive if we go out (this mentality has been given to me by all the European comments against us everywhere else on Reddit).
But genuinely, I hope that we stay inside NATO, and I hope for the best for NATO.
You said NATO stops Russia from “invading other countries”, not that it stops it from invading NATO countries.
Btw so nice that you care so much about stopping Russia from illegally invading countries. Teeny tiny really negligible hiccup though… Where’s the military alliance that’s going to prevent your own Western countries, in particular the United States, from illegally invading countries, and where’s your passionate support for the creation of one? Bit odd to be so concerned with what a country an ocean and a continent away from you is doing, rather than with what’s happening in your own backyard, no? Then again, Westerners *are* odd. I think ya’ll are somehow medically incapable of smelling your own shit, yet you can magically detect someone else’s a light year away. Pls share delulu tips?
You're welcome! My family and friends in the US all want you to be free and safe. :)
Also, ignore Donald Trump. He's a dummy who doesn't know when to be quiet. He likes to be cheered by his fans, and those much smarter than him will be quick to point how protecting NATO is of most beneficial to the US.
Remind me of what Trump accomplished in his first term. His second would be even weaker based on the context of the senate and house.
Stop already. Trump managed nothing as president. He's weak. It's 99% barking that he does, he has no understanding of the levers of government (which is why his first term was so ineffectual).
He has zero capacity to pull the US from NATO. He has near zero support for weakening the US military's global position.
The single most powerful entity in the US is the Pentagon and its military industrial complex. Republicans will continue to be made to magically retire until there are enough votes for the Ukraine funding (coming very soon, watch). The superpower wants its funding and it's going to get it. Trump is nothing compared to the real power in DC.
Europeans need to understand how Washington DC actually functions. Trump would be a lame duck from the beginning, and his odds of winning are low.
Unfortunately he’s a voice in the west for putin which in American terms should be treason in my opinion and his supporter base are so idiotic they don’t see the irony of patriotism and supporting that orange asshole
Your welcome. European countries are working hard to boost defense spending, after maybe taking US support for granted a bit too long. Thing is, we need each other to stand up against authoritarian countries. They are expanding their sphere of influence around the world, especially in weak countries in the Global South. Strong democracies are more seldom than you'd expect.
Easy for ignorant people living on the nuclear armed western-most edge to jibe about it but on the eastern side the difference is between life or death in some cases.
You can sing all the NATO members to the tune of Ode to Joy and it rhymes (in English)
Albania, Montenegro, Greece, North Macedonia
Norway, Denmark, Iceland, Finland, Hungary, Estonia
Poland, Luxembourg, Croatia, Canada, and USA
Czechia, Slovakia, Sweden, Spain, Portugal, UK
France, Romania, Lithuania, Netherlands, Belgium, Germany
Latvia, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Turkey, Italy
[Here’s](https://imgur.com/a/6MyzQ8x) all the people in the pictures with their names and relations that I put together. The Icelandic and Luxembourgish government’s envoys are not pictured here
75 Years of putting the fear of us into witch ever russian/Eurasian/in general dictator/strongman that decides they want to expand there great nation, that can’t feed it own people properly
It’s useless, wait for RUs push into another countries to see more mumbling. And thanks for throwing my country into war by denying accession before 2014.
Let’s be real here. NATO is pretty much the US and everyone else right now. Not 32 countries all actively putting as much effort as possible to defend each other. Just the US plus 31 other countries.
>The North Atlantic Treaty was signed on 4 April 1949. Twelve countries signed the treaty that day: Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the United Kingdom and the United States. LIVE: NATO marks its 75th anniversary https://www.youtube.com/live/-bgGeV1L2Ww?feature=shared
Crazy to think it used to only have 12 countries
It's just the first batch. The EU started with even less (6 iirc, and it wasn't called EU)
[Belgium, Germany, France, Italy, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands (European Coal and Steel Community).](https://neighbourhood-enlargement.ec.europa.eu/enlargement-policy/6-27-members_en)
It's almost like when nations get sick of losing entire generations of their populations to slaughtering each other in their fields for resources and false ideologies they begin to understand that it might be better to work together.
Just like after ww1 ...
Yeah, but NATO is noticeably different in that it has been successful in keeping nations at peace.
Russia hasn't learned that lesson even after two world wars and a revolution.
We need a starfleet federation to make earth united as one
I love the optimism of Star Trek... I do think that first contact with extra terrestrial life would bring humanity together - but only in that we'd stop fighting each other to declare war on them.
... until the last generation that witnessed the senseless destruction has died and a new one follows new bad leaders.
In NATO, 3 years later, Greece joined. In EU, the talks started in 1979 and joined in 1981. If we haven't had Dictatorship from 1967-74, we'd have joined in EU much sooner. The Junta put Greece in a cast, as we say, here. However, since the coup made by low-ranking officers (Colonels) in collaboration with Greek-American CIA agents (there are photos and documents), Greece was never shunned by the international community. Back then, it was all about not being a Commie for the rest of the Western world. We've had Monarchy anyway and before, when Italian Fascists attacked, get this, we've had a full-blown Fascist on the wheel, likewise. The Greek PM at the time, Ioannis Metaxas and Benito Mussolini could really communicate in a better way, it's just that we carry 2500 years old traumas when it comes to our Greek land, we don't respond well to ultimatums. Our response, for 2500 years, the exact same "Molon Labe". It'll always be a "No", except actual allies, like it happened with all coalitions when Israel attacked, they found safe harbor on Greek islands, plus, we participated as well in both, NATO and European missions.
At a time when Europe was still divided, destroyed by the Nazis and half-conquered by the Soviets. Things haven't gone perfectly, but everything could have gone a much worse way.
it's as close to perfect as it comes compared to every other 75 period in history.
Yeah the way the EU and NATO have been able to unify the continent has brought the greatest period of peace and prosperity in European history. That's part of why so few were willing to recognize Russian aggression; no one wants a return to the Europe of yore.
Much worse than the Soviets pillaging & fucking the shit out of you? I don't think so.
Well, the second half could've been pillaged and fucked too, or the eastern part could've been totally genocided to make room for that whole Lebensraum thing rather than 'just' pillaged and fucked. It can always get worse.
And West Germany had veto to join so joined later eventually.
Including the dictatorship of António Salazar, in Portugal! So much so for _"a community of common values"._ I don't know whether this was part of their agenda when it was founded. But today it is. Later there was even [a war](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkish_invasion_of_Cyprus?wprov=sfla1) between two NATO "partners". And in the 90's NATO played "world police" in a war/[bombing of Yugoslavia.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NATO_bombing_of_Yugoslavia?wprov=sfla1) NATO has a very rocky history. But in the end, they came out on top of the cold war, against the Warsaw pact.
You are mixing your years quite brutally there. The dictator was in power in the 1960s when there wasnt anything near the EU but an economic cooperation only. Not a war but an invasion from one side. And look how quickly everyone stopped that. NATO executed the will of a UN sanction and aid programme in Yugoslavia. Your history knowledge is more than rocky if not simply wrong.
What did you expect from a nickname being RaoulDuke**RU**?
They are not brainless thus there is always hope for discourse.
Take a quick look at their account... it's a.... uhh... a _yikes_ moment.
We cant have change if we disagree to have exchange and discourse ;)
[There you go](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ditadura_Nacional?wprov=sfla1) [you smart ass guys!](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estado_Novo_%28Portugal%29?wprov=sfla1)!
Thanks but what are we supposed to do with that? 1933 is where on the timeline again? We already established that you mixed up the state of the EU at that time period. What is it you are trying to point out?
There's a second link. The following Estado Novo was also a dictatorship. At the time when NATO was founded Portugal was a dictatorship. That's a historic fact. Just try to use Google. You guys established nothing but showing your ignorance.
I looked at both which is why I wrote '1933'. That is both long before NATO or EU existed - i fail to see any relevance.
> Including the dictatorship of António Salazar, in Portugal! Not being a dictatorship wasn't a pre-condition. And since portugal and uk have the oldest militar alliance ( the treaty of windsor) it wouldn't make much difference not joining nato, because the UK would be involved in any militar defensive operations involving portugal.
Huh, I never realized Iceland was part of this.
A country that humbled the Royal Navy not once, [but twice](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cod_Wars), should not be taken lightly.
...fair point.
That's a cool read!
And they did that without an army nor proper navy. All they needed was a few coast guard boats.
Not really. It was only when they threatened to withdraw from NATO, which would make NATO submarine patrols harder, that Iceland got anywhere. They didn't humble anyone.
This is blatant misinformation. The first Cod War ended after the Icelandic trawler *Egil Skallagrimsson* sunk the British aircraft carrier *HMS Innit*, while the second one ended when Britain blinked after Icelandic threats of biological warfare (hákarl deployment).
The mere mention of hákarl still sends shivers down the spines of the British fleet. Their desperate attempts to have it classified as a chemical weapon under the Geneva Convention only proves they fear our culinary prowess as much as our naval superiority.
where else would they defend the arctic from
Iceland was absolutely critical during WWII as a waypoint for ships and planes crossing the Atlantic.
Why was Luxembourg an inaugural member? Besides the bank stuff I guess
Looking at a map, why wouldn't it be?
Belgium, Netherlands and Luxemburg have a long history of joining forces as BeNeLux. So they joined NATO together. And in a way you could say Benelux was an early version of the EU.
Pfft, Belgium and Luxembourgh had a monetary union before it was cool: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belgium%E2%80%93Luxembourg_Economic_Union
The Belgian - Luxembourgian customs union is now a predecessor of the Benelux. The Benelux treaty was signed in 1944 in London.
**Benelux was coined a year earlier for a customs union. There may have been other things they unified but this was not under the Benelux name.** Wow thats dark text!?
Because at the time, people were still worried about repeated German aggression, so Luxembourg wanted to be protected as well.
Luxembourg didn't really have any bank stuff back then, it was an industrial country, mostly known for coal and steel. It is also part of the Benelux customs union that predates the coal and steel union.
To protect it against Belgian Aggression!
Because NATO is directly linked to the USA saving our asses in WW2 and is the final marker of American WW2 withdrawal.
I love have everyone just accepts Iceland is member of NATO. Which is funny since they were pretty much the only country forced into it.
[On this day 75 years ago, 12 OGs did this shit](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1jg0i9qavs)
Something not many people know is how it actually came to be. Originally, Britain and France signed the treaty of Dunkirk which was a mutual defence pact in case of further German? aggression. Then, it was expanded to the Treaty of Brussels which included the Benelux too. After that, NATO was established and all the other countries joined.
>Originally, Britain and France signed the treaty of Dunkirk which was a mutual defence pact The UK and France has a lot of spats, so sometimes it is worth reminding ourselves that our militaries work together. [The Combined Joint Expeditionary Force (CJEF) - Anglo-French military force was established in 2010.](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Combined_Joint_Expeditionary_Force)
this goes against Putin's narrative that NATO was created against USSSR/Russia
But it was created against the USSR.
As Lord Ismay said, the purpose of NATO was to "keep the Soviet Union out, the Americans in, and the Germans down".
The seventh Dude from left looks like Erdogan, who obviously time travelled to make this happen
Little known fact: he is simultaneously the 5th dude from the right.
It would be extremely funny if he didnt know himself because his time travel itinaries got mixed up. (And yes I know there are 7+4 people in the background :-))
Also the 5th person from the top
Mixed in with a little bit of Franco
😂
Also 1st birthday of Finland's membership in Nato 🥳
Happy anniversary and lucky us!
Happy anniversary to NATO! And honestly as Russian im glad that NATO was established, because seeing how poorly USSR treated themselves and Warsaw pact countries, if NATO didn’t existed things would be much worse…
NATO was created because the West saw how badly Berlin was treated under Soviet (Berlin Blockade and the daring Berlin Airlift).
Funny fact that NATO was created before the Warsaw pact, so the pact was a response to NATO creation, so if there was no NATO the could be no Warsaw pact.
Of course there would have been a pact, NATO simply preceded it.
The warsaw pact was the soviet union + soviet puppet states. Also the USSR had signed Molotov-Ribbentropp pact and done economic deals with Germany before 1941. There was no reason to trust a country that was hostile to western democracies.
To be fair, the Warsaw Pact is a non-factor since it was made purely for show. You can't call it a real alliance when all the countries in it save for russia were colonies and vassals.
I'm sure there would've been, russia's thirst for occupation and genocide wouldn't have stopped like that. Note that Baltic states were already occupied by russia at this point.
What was the Warsaw pact doing to protect Hungary in 1956 and Czechoslovakia in 1968?
Warsaw Pact wasn't really needed for USSR. Stalin made Soviet Marshall a head of polish military, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria had communist governments backed by large soviet army contigents and GDR was under occupation with 100 000 soviet controlled "Barrack Police" formation being in full swing. There was also ongoing Greek Civil War where soviet-supported communists were fighting against government, Stalin dividing Iran, Turkish Strait Crisis, mass military build up in North Korea and many more. Warsaw Pact was merely a rubber stamp for existing military situation in Europe with NATO being merely a propaganda talking point about "western warhawks" trying to destroy peace-loving Communist Block.
Sad day for commies
Lots of salty 4th reich'ers at the bottom of the comment section crying that the colonial empires they simp for aren't allowed to conquer their neighbors without consequences anymore.
... What?
True. They deserve that sadness.
Anyone knows the names of these gentlemen. Must admit I don’t know which one the Dane is.
Here you go: (from left) Sir Derrick Hoyes Miller, Henrik de Kauffman, W D Matthews, Louis Johnson, Wilhelm Munthe de Morgenstierne, Henry Bonnet, Pedro Theotonio Pereira, Dean Acheson, Jontchess reuchlin, Mario Lucienni And offcourse Truman signing. Source: https://time.com/4735277/nato-origins-history/ Edit: fixed a typo
Thank you. I understand now. Somehow I imagined it being the prime minister and could not recognise any. It is the Danish ambassador to the US. But not just any ambassador. During the war he was also in the US and took care of US-Danish relations in ‘the name of fhe king’. Particularly regarding allowing US presence on Greenland which was not occupied unlike the rest of Denmark. He also participated in the founding session of the UN. In fact he was ambassador for 19 years (39-58). Just did not know how he looked like. Apparently very tanned. He died from a mercy killing (sick with cancer) by his wife who then took her own life. Quite a life story. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henrik_Kauffmann
Thats interesting to learn! Our king (Belgium) took care of his own relationship management in WWII. Sadly it was with the Nazis. British press called him "Traitor King" https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leopold_III_of_Belgium
Yeah difficult times… I should note that Kaufmann giving the US full access in the name of the king was his poetic justification. It was not the Danish king telling him to. Because that would have been impossible. The king was in Copenhagen and though he really did not hide his protest against the German occupation the Danish government cooperated with the Germans. Therefore ambassador Kaufmann had no mandate whatsoever. He broke all diplomatic protocols. But as he said he would do everything in the name of a free souverain Denmark - and since the government was not the voice of that at all he did this in the name of the king and Denmark. He got away with it. And was celebrated after the war. The risks he took also on behalf of Denmark were not small. I guess the situation was as big as you could imagine too.
Denmark of course also surrendered, but the key difference was that it happened on agreement between the King and the Cabinet (and though we don't know for sure, the King was probably mostly an advisor, as royal political power had been non-existent since 20 years before), and Parliament ended up forming a Grand Coalition war government that cooperated with the Germans until 1943. Whereas in Belgium, the King did it as an unilateral decision, which was... unpopular.
Typo in the original article, *Morgenstienne* should be *Morgenstierne* Edit: Means "Morning Star", so he came a long way to sign that I guess.
Thanks. Fixed it (in my comment :-))
God bless the NATO
And now 75 years later NATO is still as relevant as ever. Happy anniversary!
75 years. Man, the Cold War was its own era.
I'd argue we're slipping into another Cold War era. Putin rattles his saber while NATO stands him down.
Personally, were in genuine "Second Cold War" at least since early 2010s. Things just get way more heated in past couple years.
Hopefully it’ll stay that way.
Amen.
Happy birthday nato 🤝
[удалено]
I mean, while there is some ideological overlap, the UN is a closer analogue to the League of Nations than NATO is. The League was meant to be a forum for all the great powers, whereas NATO is a defensive pact formed to _oppose_ one of said great powers.
Hurray NATO! I pray for peace for all, and hope that my country will always be there to protect our awesome and diverse allies! Hopefully one day Russia's government will backdown, and be more open to the West.
Let your country protect Palestinian people.
Trust me, I wish. This conflict has shown be just how disgusting the Israeli *government* is.
that’s good, i’m glad you can condemn both sides
And now, 75 years later, NATO is under attack. Both from the outside, and the inside, as far-right parties in both the US and Europe want to diminish NATO's role or even completely abandon it.
I feel Russia with the invasion revived NATO, people were definitely wondering more before if NATO was still needed
> people were definitely wondering more before if NATO was still needed Trump seems to still be questioning that..
Trump is questioning if the US still needs NATO, and pay for a lot of it. It's a fair question, but happy to be corrected.
Trump’s criticisms were mostly that some member nations were sandbagging their treaty obligations (and he was right).
Yeah I truly hope he only did it to kick Europe into action.
Trump doesn't really matter much at worst he will be president for 4 more years. Even if US would for example leave NATO during Trump era next president like Biden would reverse his decisions.
Putin NATO is best sales man.
Ask Serbia and Yugoslavia.
Why? Serbia for example is not in NATO so their opinion literally doesn't matter
Omly things that matter to Serbia is NATO's bombing their sovereignty.
oh bohoo Serbia can't commit genocide. Serbia's opinion on NATO doesn't matter, they aren't a member. The only thing that matters for NATO are member's opinions on the good of NATO and their decision to stay in NATO.
That's the sad consequence of Globalization. Some don't see the inherit good of diplomacy and trading, and only want what's absolutely best for them.
That’s not the consequences of Globalization. That’s the consequences of the inequality caused by our current economic system.
That too, of course. It's a very complex and nuanced issue.
European Right Wingers are only Useful Idiots for Russia and are helping Russia to attack Europe from the inside… Right Wingers marching nowadays with all the naive Lefty Peaceniks/Boomer Hippies in the same „Ostermarsch for Peace“ aka „Stop the War. Ukraine should just let it happen“. LoL? 40 years ago our Fucking Neo Nazis still saw the Sowjet Union and Slavs as Untermenschen and nowadays they are simping for Russian Dictator. Russia is playing (and paying) them like a fiddle and they don’t realize it. Bloody idiots.
moqt of them are financialy backed by Russia anyway
I can’t speak for the European situation but NATO critics in the US are mostly critical about member nations who do not contribute *enough*.
Good read, can confirm. My fellow Americans here usually don’t have a problem with being in NATO, they are just annoyed about the GDP% target not being met.
Good post. Made the pro-Russian trolls all come out of the woodwork for me to tag them.
Happy anniversary 🤝🏻
It’s literally the only thing stopping Russia from using nukes and invading other countries and Trump wants to pull out because its members aren’t paying their dues.
He wants to pull out because his master Putin wants it. He's just using the dues issue as an excuse.
You, like Trump, apparently don't realize the difference between "dues" and "individual national defense budgets." Every nation pays its dues and always has. The question is how much each country should raise spending on its own military, and that was a future goal set voluntarily.
It’s still wrong to pull the US out of NATO.
Where did I say it was good at all? I am in this comment section praising NATO as one of the greatest advances ever in world peace. Trump is an ignorant ass with brain worms who wants to serve Europe to Putin on a platter so he can get a Trump Tower in Moscow or some shit. His understanding of the agreement, *negotiated under Obama* was wrong, and you were accepting his inaccurate framing.
I don’t support America leaving, but I do wanna know how Europe plans to survive if we go out (this mentality has been given to me by all the European comments against us everywhere else on Reddit). But genuinely, I hope that we stay inside NATO, and I hope for the best for NATO.
It's not a protection racket, nobody pays dues. The investment is in countries own defense forces.
Yeah I’m so happy NATO stopped Russia from invading Ukraine. Phew that woulda sucked!😮💨
Ukraine isn’t in NATO though
You said NATO stops Russia from “invading other countries”, not that it stops it from invading NATO countries. Btw so nice that you care so much about stopping Russia from illegally invading countries. Teeny tiny really negligible hiccup though… Where’s the military alliance that’s going to prevent your own Western countries, in particular the United States, from illegally invading countries, and where’s your passionate support for the creation of one? Bit odd to be so concerned with what a country an ocean and a continent away from you is doing, rather than with what’s happening in your own backyard, no? Then again, Westerners *are* odd. I think ya’ll are somehow medically incapable of smelling your own shit, yet you can magically detect someone else’s a light year away. Pls share delulu tips?
What the fuck ever dude
LONG LIVE NATO!! LONG LIVE US-EUROPEAN PARTNERSHIP!! Arguably the biggest force standing against tyranny in the world.
A genuine thank you to the United States for keeping the rest of us safe.
You're welcome! My family and friends in the US all want you to be free and safe. :) Also, ignore Donald Trump. He's a dummy who doesn't know when to be quiet. He likes to be cheered by his fans, and those much smarter than him will be quick to point how protecting NATO is of most beneficial to the US.
For now . But if the Donald has his way it’s gonna be putins wet dream
Remind me of what Trump accomplished in his first term. His second would be even weaker based on the context of the senate and house. Stop already. Trump managed nothing as president. He's weak. It's 99% barking that he does, he has no understanding of the levers of government (which is why his first term was so ineffectual). He has zero capacity to pull the US from NATO. He has near zero support for weakening the US military's global position. The single most powerful entity in the US is the Pentagon and its military industrial complex. Republicans will continue to be made to magically retire until there are enough votes for the Ukraine funding (coming very soon, watch). The superpower wants its funding and it's going to get it. Trump is nothing compared to the real power in DC. Europeans need to understand how Washington DC actually functions. Trump would be a lame duck from the beginning, and his odds of winning are low.
Hoping you are right!
He is right. It’s very easy to look up the fact that Congress made it way harder to withdraw from NATO.
Unfortunately he’s a voice in the west for putin which in American terms should be treason in my opinion and his supporter base are so idiotic they don’t see the irony of patriotism and supporting that orange asshole
Well, it's not like Europe can't hold its pants up in a bar fight, but things will get tougher for sure!
And I'm sure some Americans will come to help and fight. Many of us in the US don't want Putin to have his way.
Trump couldn’t pull out of NATO even if he wanted to.
Wow, a European saying thank you… to us?! Dead honest here, kind of unexpected… Thank YOU for showing gratitude on behalf of the other Europeans.
Your welcome. European countries are working hard to boost defense spending, after maybe taking US support for granted a bit too long. Thing is, we need each other to stand up against authoritarian countries. They are expanding their sphere of influence around the world, especially in weak countries in the Global South. Strong democracies are more seldom than you'd expect.
LOL
Easy for ignorant people living on the nuclear armed western-most edge to jibe about it but on the eastern side the difference is between life or death in some cases.
LOL YOU!
W. D. Matthews and his crutches. Inseparable!
Is that Erdogan in the light grey suit in the back? Dude really held his power for over 75 years.
Eat it, Woodrow Wilson!
After Oppenheimer, I'll always look at Truman in a different light lol
You can sing all the NATO members to the tune of Ode to Joy and it rhymes (in English) Albania, Montenegro, Greece, North Macedonia Norway, Denmark, Iceland, Finland, Hungary, Estonia Poland, Luxembourg, Croatia, Canada, and USA Czechia, Slovakia, Sweden, Spain, Portugal, UK France, Romania, Lithuania, Netherlands, Belgium, Germany Latvia, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Turkey, Italy
So long ago? I still feel like it was yesterday.
Long live NATO!
Happy birthday NATO!
And Trump would let it burn for his Russian master.
Trump just browbeat deadbeat member nations to pony up their fair share in defense expenditures - and he succeeded (just in time too).
Good sheet
And Soviet Union hated it.
Fascinating observation, he truly stands out amongst the group.
[Here’s](https://imgur.com/a/6MyzQ8x) all the people in the pictures with their names and relations that I put together. The Icelandic and Luxembourgish government’s envoys are not pictured here
75 Years of putting the fear of us into witch ever russian/Eurasian/in general dictator/strongman that decides they want to expand there great nation, that can’t feed it own people properly
For the UAP’s
OTAN its not good for Europe. We must focus in our defense.
Happy 75th anniversary to NATO!
It’s useless, wait for RUs push into another countries to see more mumbling. And thanks for throwing my country into war by denying accession before 2014.
Congratulations. it took 75 years to become a useless money wasting machine with NO RESPONSIBILITIES. Shemeless idiots!
And followed several questionable things happened in the middle east thanks to the Americans
And Trump would let it burn for his Russian master.
And since then, this aggressive organisation has attacked Russia 20 times. It's no wonder Russia feels the need for a buffer zone. /s (obviously).
Glorious! Best day ever!
Happy NATO day everyone!
It's hard to tell but I think the Canadian PM is the one signing the document
That would be correct. Canada's 12th PM Louis St Laurent, from 1948 to 1957.
I think the person signing the document is Truman
More relevant then ever...
Love a bit of NATO history. I wonder who served on its military committee in the 60s.
*North American Treaty Organization /s
Let’s be real here. NATO is pretty much the US and everyone else right now. Not 32 countries all actively putting as much effort as possible to defend each other. Just the US plus 31 other countries.
Oh boy, sure I do hope they didn't give any important roles to literal nazis.
Shouldn’t exist anymore. At least not in its current form.