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Truman signing the
NATO agreement
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NATO Facts: Fast Fact Sheet
Fast, fun facts and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's)
about NATO.
What does NATO stand for? NATO stands
for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization
When was NATO formed? The date NATO was
formed was on April 4, 1949.
Who were the original members of NATO?
The original members of
NATO were Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France,
Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands,
Norway, Portugal, the United Kingdom and the
United States.
Why was NATO created?
NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization, was created to provide
collective security after WW2 and to counter
the threat of further Communist expansion
during the Cold War.
NATO Facts
for kids
The following fact
sheet contains interesting information, history and
facts on NATO members for kids.
NATO
Facts for kids
NATO
Facts - 1: The establishment of the "Iron
Curtain", the boundary that separated the free democratic
countries of the West with the communist dominated countries of the
East, and the threat of further Communist expansion started the
Cold War.
NATO
Facts - 2: During the
Cold
War the United States
adhered to the
Domino Theory
and adopted the policy of
Containment, which was designed to restrict
communist expansion by keeping communism within its
present territory by diplomatic, military and economic
actions.
NATO
Facts - 3: Containment was a
key element of the
Truman Doctrine and the
US-financed relief package provided by the
Marshall Plan.
NATO
Facts - 4: 17 March 1948: The
Treaty of Brussels was signed on 17 March 1948 by
western European countries consisting of the United
Kingdom, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and
Luxembourg. The Treaty of Brussels and the Soviet Berlin Blockade
led to the creation of the military agency called the
Western Union Defence Organization in September 1948.
NATO
Facts - 5: The Berlin Crisis
(1 April, 1948 – 12 May, 1949) saw the Soviets mount the
Berlin Blockade
and convinced many Americans that the Soviets were
planning to extend their power through further conquests
in Europe. Support began to grow for the idea of a
post-war military alliance with the countries of western
Europe which would further the US policy of containment.
NATO
Facts -
6: The countries of
western Europe realized that a new mutual defense
agreement involving the United States and Canada was
necessary due to the Soviet threat. The US was
responsive to the concept and secret meetings between
officials began in March 1949 to negotiate a
trans-Atlantic mutual defense pact.
NATO
Facts - 7: The secret meetings were held
at the Pentagon between 22 March, 1948 to 1 April 1948 between the
United States, United Kingdom and Canada and led to the formation of
NATO.
NATO
Facts -
8: Representatives
from 12 countries gathered for a meeting in Washington,
D.C. The committee was chaired by US diplomat Theodore
Achilles who was the head the Office of Western European
Affairs at the Department of State.
NATO
Facts - 9: 4 April 1949: The North
Atlantic Treaty was signed on 4 April 1949 and established
NATO (the North Atlantic Treaty Organization). The purpose of
the North Atlantic Treaty was to create a mutual defense pact aimed
at containing possible Soviet aggression against Western Europe.
NATO
Facts - 10: The North Atlantic Treaty was
the first peacetime military alliance ever concluded by the United
States and was signed by the foreign ministers of the twelve
signatory nations
NATO
Facts -
11: NATO originally
consisted of 12 countries - Belgium, Canada, Denmark,
France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands,
Norway, Portugal, the United Kingdom and the United
States
NATO
Facts - 12: The goal of NATO
was to "safeguard the freedom, common heritage and
civilization" of its members by promoting "stability and
well-being in the North Atlantic area". Its aim was to
block Soviet expansion into Europe. Members of NATO
agreed to come to the aid of any member who was attacked
Continued...
NATO
Facts for kids
Facts
about NATO Facts for kids
The following fact
sheet continues with interesting information, history and facts
on NATO for kids.
NATO
Facts for kids
NATO
Facts -
13: The NATO phonetic
alphabet was adopted during the Cold War to improve
communications between different countries and eliminate
misunderstandings and errors.
NATO
Facts - 14: 1952: Following the Turkish
Straits crisis and Greek Civil War (1946–1949) the NATO
alliance expanded to include Greece and Turkey.
NATO
Facts - 15: 1955: On May 5,
1955, the American, British and French forces formally
ended their military occupation of West Germany, which
became an independent country. Four days later, on May
9, 1955, West Germany was made a member of NATO and
included in the Western European defense system
NATO
Facts -
16: 1955: The USSR
condemned NATO as a warmongering alliance and on May 14,
1955 the Soviet Union created a counter-alliance called
the Warsaw Pact. The Warsaw Pact was a collective
defense treaty among 8 communist 'satellite nations' of
Central and Eastern Europe in existence during the Cold
War. The Warsaw Pact was led by the USSR and consisted
of the Soviet Union, Albania, Poland, Romania, Hungary,
East Germany, Czechoslovakia, and Bulgaria..
NATO
Facts - 17: 1982: Spain had
adopted a democratic constitution but this had been
threatened by an unsuccessful coup d’état against the
fledgling Spanish democracy. Due to its military
vulnerability Spain sought membership of NATO and became
a member of the organization on 30 May 1982
NATO
Facts -
18: 1991: The Warsaw
Pact was dissolved at the end of the Cold War, after the
break-up of the USSR in 1991.
NATO
Facts -
19: 1994: In 1994 NATO
offered former Warsaw Pact members limited associations
in the form of the Partnership for Peace program.
NATO
Facts -
20: 1999: Hungary, the
Czech Republic and Poland became the first former Warsaw
Pact countries to gain NATO membership in 1999.
NATO
Facts -
21: 2001: Following
the
9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001, the supportive reaction
from Russia led to the establishment of the Nato-Russia
Council in May 2002. The Nato-Russia Council gives
Russia an equal role with the NATO countries in
decision-making on policies to counter terrorism and
other security threats.
NATO
Facts - 22: In 2004 Estonia, Latvia,
Lithuania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Bulgaria and Romania were all
welcomed as new NATO members
NATO
Facts - 23: In 2009 Albania and Croatia became members of
NATO.
NATO
Facts -
24: There are
currently 28 independent member countries of NATO:
Albania, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Czech
Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece,
Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg,
Netherland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia,
Slovenia, Spain, Turkey, United Kingdom and the United
States.
NATO
Facts -
25: NATO played and important role
throughout the course of the Cold War and continues to
play an important role in post-Cold War Europe
NATO
Facts for kids
NATO Members and
Countries
There are currently 28 independent members of
NATO. The member countries are Albania, Belgium,
Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark,
Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland,
Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the
Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania,
Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Turkey, United Kingdom
and the United States.
NATO and SEATO
The Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO),
was formed on September 8, 1954 as the Southeast Asian version of
NATO to create a mutual defense pact aimed at containing the spread
of Communism by the People's Republic of China and the Democratic
Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam).
NATO Alphabet Definition
and History
Definition: The NATO Alphabet, is a series of 26
code words. Each code word represents one of the twenty-six letters
of the English language. In military use British and American armed
forces each developed their own phonetic alphabets before both
forces adopted the ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization)
alphabet in 1956 during the Cold War. The standard NATO Alphabet was
adopted so that messages could be conveyed via the radio or
telephones without error or misunderstanding. The NATO alphabet is
used not only by the military, airline pilots and the police but
also by commercial enterprises such as call centers.
NATO - President Harry Truman Video
The article on the
NATO provides detailed facts and a summary of one of the important events during his presidential term in office. The following
Harry Truman video will
give you additional important facts and dates about the political events experienced by the 33rd American President whose presidency spanned from April 12, 1945 to January 20, 1953.
NATO
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Interesting Facts about NATO members for kids and schools
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Summary and Definition of NATO in US history
●
NATO Facts with important dates and key
events about members
●
NATO Members and Facts with important dates and key
events
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Fast, fun, interesting
facts about NATO members
●
Foreign & Domestic
policy of President Truman
● NATO members and facts for schools,
homework, kids and children |
