On 11 June 1948, the US Senate adopts the Vandenberg Resolution supporting the association of the United States, by constitutional procedures, with regional or collective arrangements based upon continuous and effective individual or mutual aid.
‘...28 October 1948 ... The Atlantic Pact is in sight - Uncle Sam: ‘Before that big fellow over there grabs you, I’ll marry you with all your scrawny kids…’ On 30 October 1948, in the face of the Soviet threat, the cartoonist Ernst Maria Lang comments on Europe's relief at the protection afforded by the military alliance with the United States.
On 11 December 1948, the German weekly news magazine Der Spiegel comments on the efforts made by the United States to establish a military alliance among Western countries.
On 22 January 1949, the Viennese weekly Die österreichische Furche analyses the consequences for the Atlantic Pact of the creation of a European federation and emphasises that a solution to the Ruhr question is essential if a sustainable peace is to be established in Europe.
On 23 February 1949, as negotiations are held on the establishment of a new military alliance, British cartoonist Ernest Howard Shepard illustrates the United States' determination to protect Western Europe from the Communist threat.
‘Mirage.’ On 25 February 1949, the German weekly journal Europa-Kurier publishes a cartoon on the wanderings of a Western Europe which is seeking unity and is attracted by the prospect of military alliance with the United States.
On 26 February 1949, the French Communist daily newspaper Le Patriote mosellan criticises the reassuring words of the British Foreign Secretary, Ernest Bevin, on the importance of the future Atlantic Pact, comparing them to the uplifting words of British Prime Minister Arthur Neville Chamberlain in 1939 concerning the Munich Pact. For Le Patriote mosellan, this military alliance between the countries of Western Europe and the United States is a new tool for war and not for peace.
On 4 April 1949, in Washington, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the United Kingdom and the United States sign the North Atlantic Treaty. The Treaty enters into force on 24 August 1949.
On 4 April 1949, in Washington, Paul-Henri Spaak, Belgian Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, gives an address at the ceremony to mark the official signing of the North Atlantic Treaty.
The signing of the North Atlantic Treaty takes place on 4 April 1949 in the Grand Auditorium of the State Department in Washington. Joseph Bech, Luxembourg Foreign Minister, delivers a speech on the importance of the new military alliance.
At the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty in Washington on 4 April 1949, the US President, Harry Truman, gives an address on the importance of the future alliance and on the need to maintain peace across the world.
Map depicting the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty on 4 April 1949 in Washington and NATO's 12 founding member states. The treaty comes into force on 24 August 1949.
On 4 April 1949, in Washington, Joseph Bech, Luxembourg Foreign Minister, gives an address during the ceremony to mark the signing of the agreement establishing the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO).
Robert Schuman, French Foreign Minister, after the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty, under the portrait of Lafayette at the French Embassy in Washington in April 1949.
On 4 April 1949, the Foreign Ministers of Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the United Kingdom and the United States sign the North Atlantic Treaty in Washington.
At the signature of the North Atlantic Treaty on 4 April 1949 in Washington, Paul-Henri Spaak, Belgian Prime Minister, delivers a speech in which he stresses the importance of NATO in ensuring world peace.
US President Harry S. Truman gives an address in Washington on 4 April 1949 at the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty in which he underlines the importance that the Atlantic Alliance attaches to peace and prosperity.
In his memoirs, Jean Chauvel, Secretary-General of the French Foreign Ministry, recalls the multilateral negotiations for the establishment of a new system of Western security. These negotiations would lead to the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty on 4 April 1949 in Washington.
On 24 August 1949, in Washington, the US President, Harry S. Truman, signs the Convention implementing the North Atlantic Treaty. Behind him, from left to right: Sir Frederick Hoyer Millar (United Kingdom), Henrik de Kauffmann (Denmark), W. D. Matthews (Canada), Louis Johnson, (US Defence Secretary), Wilhelm Munthe de Morgenstierne (Norway), Henri Bonnet (France), Pedro Theotonio Pereira (Portugal), Dean Acheson, (US Secretary of State), O. Reuchlin (Netherlands) and Mario Lucielli (Italy).
On 2 April 1951, Vincent Auriol, President of the French Republic, gives an address in Rocquencourt at the opening ceremony of the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE). SHAPE was set up as part of an effort to establish an integrated and effective NATO military force.
In April 1951, the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) moves to its site in Rocquencourt, near Paris. It would remain at this site until 1967, when it permanently relocated to Casteau, near Mons, in Belgium.
On 22 October 1951, in London, the Deputy Permanent Representatives of the North Atlantic Council sign the Protocol to the North Atlantic Treaty on the Accession of Greece and Turkey (who will officially become members on 18 February 1952). From left to right: Tjarda van Starkenborgh-Stachouwer (Netherlands), André De Staerke (Belgium), L. Dana Wilgress (Canada), Hervé Alphand (France), Gunnlaugur Petursson (Iceland), Soren C. Sommerfelt (Norway), M. De Steensen-Leth (Denmark), Alberto Rossi Longhi (Italy), Ruy Ennes Ulrich (Portugal), André Clasen (Luxembourg), Sir Frederick Hoyer Millar (United Kingdom) and Charles M. Spofford (USA).
The Protocol to the North Atlantic Treaty relating to the accession of Greece and Turkey is signed in London on 22 October 1951. On 18 February 1952, Greece and Turkey officially become members of NATO.
"Passer en revue les troupes en carton". Le 28 février 1952, le caricaturiste britannique David Low s'interroge sur la capacité du général américain Dwight D. Eisenhower, commandant suprême des forces alliées en Europe (SACEUR), pour pallier l'infériorité numérique des forces armées européennes au sein de l'Alliance atlantique.
On 19 March 1949, referring to the Treaty of Washington establishing NATO, the French daily newspaper Le Monde speculates on the role of the Europeans in this North Atlantic defence pact.
In his memoirs, Italian Foreign Minister, Carlo Sforza, recalls the bitter debates at the Italian Parliament during discussions on the North Atlantic Treaty in March 1949.
On 4 April 1949, commenting on the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty, the Netherlands daily newspaper De Volkskrant sets out the tasks of the Atlantic Alliance and outlines the role played by the United States within this new military organisation.
On 4 April 1949, British cartoonist Leslie Gilbert Illingworth takes an ironic look at the role played by Soviet leader Joseph Stalin in the establishment of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO).
On 5 April 1949, the Dutch daily newspaper Het Parool reports the signing by 12 Western countries of the North Atlantic Treaty and outlines the key points of this new military alliance.
On 5 April 1949, the Luxembourg newspaper Luxemburger Wort analyses the implications of the North Atlantic Treaty, signed the day before in Washington, on future East-West relations.
The day after the signing of the Treaty of Washington establishing the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), the Luxembourg Communist daily newspaper Zeitung vum Lëtzeburger Vollek deplores the Treaty as a warmongers’ pact.
On 5 April 1950, the Italian daily newspaper Corriere della Sera speculates on the military capacity of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) and underlines the importance of the military and financial assistance provided by the United States for the defence of Western Europe.
In April 1949 the German satirical magazine Der Tintenfisch portrays ‘Russia’s response to the Atlantic Pact’ and attacks the Soviet leadership’s participation in the atomic arms race.
While members of the Italian Government meet in the Montecitorio Palace to discuss Italy’s accession to the Atlantic Pact, demonstrations against NATO are held on the streets of Rome, and a large nunber of people are injured as a result of strong-arm intervention by the police.
On 19 March 1949, the French Communist daily newspaper L’Humanité warns against the dangers of the future North Atlantic Treaty and deplores the United States’ imperialist policy.
In January 1951, Johannes Linthorst Homan, Director of European Integration in the Netherlands Ministry for Economic Affairs from 1952 to 1958, summarises the international situation and reviews the scale of US economic and military aid to Europe.
On 16 April 1952, the Netherlands journal Internationale Spectator analyses the origins of Atlantic and European cooperation and the issues surrounding this cooperation
In May 1955, the United Aircraft Corporation, the principal US aircraft manufacturer, publishes a promotional insert in the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera in support of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO).
On 15 May 1955, the United Aircraft Corporation, a major American aircraft manufacturer, lends its full support to the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) in the Italian daily newspaper Corriere della Sera.