On 22 January 1948, addressing the House of Commons, the British Foreign Secretary, Ernest Bevin, condemns the Soviet Union’s political ambitions and calls for greater unity amongst the countries of Western Europe.

On 13 March 1948, in Luxembourg, Paul-Henri Spaak, Belgian Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, delivers an address during which he outlines the implications of the establishment of Western Union.

On 16 March 1948, on the eve of the signing of the Brussels Treaty, British cartoonist Leslie Gilbert Illingworth illustrates the efforts made by Ernest Bevin, British Foreign Secretary, and George C. Marshall, US Secretary of State, for the establishment of Western Union, under the suspicious eye of Moscow.

The Treaty of Economic, Social and Cultural Collaboration and Collective Self-Defence, signed in Brussels on 17 March 1948 by Belgium, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. It enters into force on 25 August 1948. Although this Treaty provides only for ‘cooperation’ between the contracting parties, ‘which will be effected through the Consultative Council referred to in Article VII’, and it does not provide for the establishment of an international organisation, in practice it leads to the creation of an organisation known as the ‘Brussels Treaty Organisation’ or ‘Western Union’.

Map showing the five founding Member States of Western Union (WU). The Brussels Treaty establishing Western Union is signed on 17 March 1948 and enters into force on 25 August 1948.

On 3 November 1948, British cartoonist Ernest Howard Shepard takes an ironic look at the large number of institutions in the Western Union, contrasting these with the institution's real military capacity and comparing it to a ‘paper tiger'. On the left, Ernest Bevin, British Foreign Secretary.

The Nine-Power Conference, held from 28 September to 3 October 1954 in London, is attended by the representatives of the five states signatory to the Brussels Treaty and those of the United States, Canada and the two countries invited to accede to the Treaty: the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) and Italy.

On 2 October 1954, the daily newspaper Luxemburger Wort regrets that the compromises secured at the Nine-Power Conference in London do not offer the same guarantees with regard to German rearmament as those provided by the European Defence Community (EDC).

On 3 October 1954, in London, in response to the failure to establish the European Defence Community (EDC) on 29 August 1954, the Nine Powers (Belgium, Canada, France, the Federal Republic of Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States) sign the agreements which pave the way for the Federal Republic of Germany to accede to the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) and for the conversion of Western Union into Western European Union (WEU). From left to right: Gaetano Martino, Italian Foreign Minister, Antony Eden, British Foreign Secretary, Konrad Adenauer, German Chancellor, Pierre Mendès France, President of the French Council, and Lester B. Pearson, Canadian Secretary of State for External Affairs.

From 28 September to 3 October 1954, a conference attended by the Foreign Ministers of the United States, Canada, Italy, the Federal Republic of Germany and the five Member States of the Brussels Treaty is held at Lancaster House, London, with the aim of finding a solution to the questions of organisation and defence in Western Europe.

On 5 October 1954, the German Chancellor, Konrad Adenauer, informs the Bundestag about the impact of the decisions adopted in London by the Nine-Power Conference.

On 6 October 1954, British cartoonist Leslie Gilbert Illingworth illustrates the difficulties experienced by the French and German delegations in reaching agreement at the Nine-Power Conference held in London from 28 September to 3 October 1954.

On 21 October 1954, at the Nine-Power Conference in Paris, the Foreign Ministers of Belgium, Canada, the Federal Republic of Germany, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States resume the discussions started at the London Conference, held from 28 September to 3 October 1954, on the subject of European security and integration against the background of an Atlantic community in the throes of development.

On 21 October 1954, in Paris, the Governments of Belgium, France, the Federal Republic of Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom decide to convene a working party on 17 January 1955 to be responsible for considering the issue of the production and standardisation of armaments with a view to submitting proposals to the Council of Western European Union when it is established.

In his memoirs, Anthony Eden, British Foreign Minister from 1951 to 1955, describes the negotiation process at the Nine-Power Conference held in London from 28 September to 3 October 1954.

The Brussels Treaty of 17 March 1948, modified and completed by the protocols signed in Paris on 23 October 1954 which enter into force on 6 May 1955. The Federal Republic of Germany and Italy accede to the modified Treaty. The ‘Consultative Council’ becomes the ‘Council of Western European Union’ (Article VIII), and the organisation established by the Treaty is renamed ‘Western European Union’ (WEU).

Map showing the birth in 1955 of Western European Union (WEU), which succeeded Western Union. As part of the Paris Agreements, the Protocol modifying and completing the 1948 Brussels Treaty was signed in the French capital on 23 October 1954 and came into force on 6 May 1955.

Dates of deposit of the instruments of ratification of the Protocol modifying and completing the Brussels Treaty of 17 March 1948. Pursuant to its Article VI, the Protocol entered into force on 6 May 1955, the date of the deposit of the Federal Republic of Germany’s instrument of accession to the North Atlantic Treaty.

On 23 October 1954, in Paris, the five Member States of Western Union (France, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg), together with Italy and the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG), sign the Protocol Modifying and Completing the Brussels Treaty of 1948, thereby establishing Western European Union. From left to right: Konrad Adenauer, Joseph Bech, Paul-Henri Spaak, Pierre Mendès France and Gaetano Martino.

From left to right: Pierre Mendès France, Konrad Adenauer, Anthony Eden and John Foster Dulles answer journalists’ questions at a press conference held after the signing of the Paris Agreements on 23 October 1954.

The Paris Agreements, signed on 23 October 1954, restore sovereignty to the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG), which becomes a full member of the Atlantic Alliance, and result in the creation of Western European Union (WEU).

On 25 October 1954, after the failure of the European Defence Community (EDC), the Dutch daily newspaper Het Parool welcomes the signing of the Paris Agreements establishing Western European Union (WEU), and considers them to be an essential stage in the European unification process.

On 27 October 1954, in an article published in the Brussels daily newspaper La Dernière Heure, Roger Motz, member of the Belgian Senate and leader of the Belgian Liberal Party, emphasises the numerous advantages, particularly in military terms, resulting from the Paris Agreements, and highlights the efforts made by the British, French and German leaders to achieve this outcome.

‘The last obstacle?’ In October 1954, the cartoonist Behrendt shows the European countries cooperating to overcome their differences in order to work together for the unity of Western Europe.

In this note sent to the Belgian Foreign Minister, Paul-Henri Spaak, on 30 October 1954, Robert Silvercruys, Belgian Ambassador to the United States, tells of the satisfaction in the United States that greeted the signing, on 23 October 1954, of the Paris Agreements establishing Western European Union (WEU).

In November 1954, Paolo Emilio Taviani, Italian Defence Minister, emphasises the importance of Western European Union (WEU) for the military security of the European continent.

On 21 December 1954, in an address to the Italian Parliament, Pietro Nenni, leader of the Socialists, declares his opposition to Italy’s ratification of the Paris Agreements, since he sees them as an obstacle to the policy of détente in Europe.

On 22 December 1954, Gaetano Martino, Italian Foreign Minister, outlines the advantages of Western European Union (WEU) to the Chamber of Deputies and calls for Italy’s ratification of the Paris Agreements.

In 1955, the Communist Party of Germany (Kommunistische Partei Deutschlands) warns against the dangers of the Paris Agreements, which it considers to be detrimental to peace and against Germany’s interests.

On 7 January 1955, the Belgian conservative daily newspaper La Nation belge analyses the debates taking place in France on the question of the ratification of the Paris Agreements and emphasises the Communists’ opposition to the establishment of a Western European Union (WEU).

On 20 January 1955, the Soviet satirical magazine Krokodil lambasts France’s ratification of the Paris Agreements, by which it appears to be leaving itself vulnerable to the threat of a rearmed and revanchist Germany.

In February 1955, various sections of the Communist Party of Germany call for demonstrations to be held against the ratification of the Paris Agreements, signed on 23 October 1954, which it considers dangerous for Franco–German relations and a threat to peace between the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) and the German Democratic Republic (GDR).

In 1955, Eugen Kogon, European federalist and founder of the journal Frankfurter Hefte, paints a very critical picture of the year 1954 with regard to European unification on a supranational basis.

On 10 March 1955, the US President, Dwight D. Eisenhower, sends to the governments of Belgium, France, the Federal Republic of Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom a letter in which he sets out the reasons why the United States welcomes the establishment of Western European Union (WEU) and his ideas on how relations between WEU and North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) should be structured.

On 7 May 1955, in application of Article VIII of the Modified Brussels Treaty, the Council of Western European Union (WEU) approves the establishment in Paris of a Standing Armaments Committee (SAC) to be responsible for seeking joint solutions to the needs of the member States in terms of equipment. The SAC undertakes in particular to promote agreements or arrangements on subjects such as the research and development, standardisation, production and supply of armaments.

On 7 and 11 May 1955, the first Council of Foreign Ministers of the Member States of Western European Union (WEU) is held in Paris. Simultaneously, the North Atlantic Council meets in ministerial session at the Palais de Chaillot in Paris to give official recognition to the Federal Republic of Germany’s accession to the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO).

On 24 May 1952, the Federal Chancellor, Konrad Adenauer (centre), meets British Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden (on the left), US Secretary of State Dean Acheson and French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman (on the right), to discuss the final outstanding questions relating to the future Convention on relations between the Three Powers and the Federal Republic of Germany.

On 26 May 1952, Robert Schuman, French Foreign Minister, arrives in Bonn for the signing of the Convention on relations between the Three Powers and the Federal Republic of Germany.

Signed on 26 May 1952 by France, the United States, the United Kingdom and the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG), the Bonn Convention grants sovereignty, albeit with some restrictions, to the FRG, once the Treaty establishing the European Defence Community enters into force.

On 26 May 1952, the US Secretary of State, Dean Acheson, signs the Bonn Agreements, which aim to put an end to the occupation status of the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) and enable the gradual reestablishment of German sovereignty. This Convention is due to take effect upon the entry into force of the Treaty establishing the European Defence Community (EDC).

On 26 May 1952, the Federal Chancellor, Konrad Adenauer, signs the Convention on relations between the Three Powers and the Federal Republic of Germany. The Bonn Agreements grant sovereignty to the FRG, with certain restrictions, upon the entry into force of the Treaty establishing the European Defence Community (EDC).

On 26 May 1952, the British Foreign Secretary, Anthony Eden, signs the Convention on relations between the Three Powers and the Federal Republic of Germany, which grants sovereignty to the FRG, with certain restrictions, upon the entry into force of the Treaty establishing the European Defence Community (EDC).

On 26 May 1952, in Bonn, the French Foreign Minister, Robert Schuman, signs the Convention on relations between the Three Powers and the Federal Republic of Germany, which grants sovereignty to the FRG, with certain restrictions, upon the entry into force of the Treaty establishing the European Defence Community (EDC).

On 26 May 1952, France, the United States, the United Kingdom and the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) sign the Convention on relations between the Three Powers and the FRG, which grants sovereignty to the FRG, with certain restrictions, after the entry into force of the Treaty establishing the European Defence Community (EDC).

In his address to the Bundestag on 7 August 1954, Heinrich von Brentano, Chairman of the Parliamentary Group of the Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU), presents the outcome of the Nine-Power Conference in London which will enable the Federal Republic of Germany to accede to Western European Union (WEU) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO).

Convention on relations between the Three Powers and the Federal Republic of Germany as amended by Schedule I to the Protocol on the Termination of the Occupation Regime in the Federal Republic of Germany, signed at Paris on 23 October 1954.

In 1954, pacifist demonstrators march through the streets of Munich protesting against German rearmament, sanctioned by the Paris Agreements signed on 23 October 1954.

In 1954, the German communist-leaning party Bund der Deutschen (Alliance of Germans) opposes the rearmament of the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) and calls for the Paris Agreements not to be ratified.

‘Welcome to Konrad and his men.’ In 1954, the cartoonist Fritz Behrendt depicts the forthcoming accession of the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) to the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), which is presented as an impregnable fortress.

‘To cut a long story short, the West puts West Germany on the map, following the principle of free choice for the nations.’ In January 1955, Opland, Dutch cartoonist, describes the rearmament process of the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG).

In 1955, faced with the military threat of the Soviet bloc, the West German independent republican movement Bund aktiver Demokraten e.V., which advocates values of freedom and democracy, calls for the creation of a German army.

In 1955, the Communist Party of Germany rejects the notion of policy based on opposing blocs by condemning both the Paris Agreements and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), and advocates the establishment of a collective structure for defence in Europe.

On 20 April 1955, in connection with the implementation of the various provisions of the Paris Agreements, James B. Conant, High Commissioner of the US zone of occupation and US Ambassador to the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from 1953 to 1957, deposits the ratification instruments for the Protocol on the Termination of the Occupation Regime in the FRG with the Federal Government. The photo shows the Federal Chancellor, Konrad Adenauer, giving an address at the Palais Schaumburg in Bonn to emphasise the importance of the event.

On 5 May 1955, the German Government issues a proclamation to mark the end of the occupation of the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG).

On 5 May 1955, in a radio broadcast, the German Chancellor, Konrad Adenauer, welcomes the end of the occupation of the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG).

On 5 May 1955, in Bonn, Sir Frederick Hoyer Millar (left), British High Commissioner in the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG), and the German Chancellor, Konrad Adenauer (centre), sign the agreements which officially put an end to the occupation of the FRG by the three Western allied powers.

On 5 May 1955, the Bulletin of the Press and Information Office of the German Government emphasises the significance of the end of the occupation regime in the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) in terms of national sovereignty.

On 6 May 1955, in Paris, Chancellor Konrad Adenauer signs the official accession of the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) to the North Atlantic Treaty.

On 10 May 1955, the day after the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) became a Member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), the German daily newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung describes the ceremonies which took place at the Palais de Chaillot in Paris.

‘At the head of the North Atlantic Union.’ On 30 May 1955, the Soviet satirical publication Krokodil denounces the Federal Republic of Germany’s membership of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) and attacks the Nazi military past of the German Generals in the Alliance.

On 6 June 1955, the Dutch daily newspaper Het Parool outlines the efforts made by the German Chancellor, Konrad Adenauer, to speed up the process of rearmament in the Federal Republic of Germany.

On 12 November 1955, Theodor Blank, Federal Defence Minister, gives an address in Bonn to mark the appointment of the first volunteers for the Bundeswehr.

On 12 November 1955, in Bonn, Theodor Blank, West German Defence Minister, presents the first 101 Bundeswehr volunteers with their instrument of appointment.

On 20 January 1956 in Andernach, German Federal Chancellor Konrad Adenauer addresses the first recruits of the new Bundeswehr.

In July 1955, the law on the recruitment of military volunteers (Freiwilligengesetz) is adopted by the Bundestag, laying the foundations for the enlistment of the first military volunteers in the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG). The new German Federal Army, known as the Bundeswehr from 1956, and the air force, the Luftwaffe, publish posters to recruit their first members.

In 1954, the French Communist Party (PCF) and the Communist Party of Germany (KPD) launch a joint appeal to the French and German people against the ratification of the Bonn and Paris Agreements, and reaffirm their commitment to efforts for peace.

In 1956, the press and information service of the German Federal Government publishes a poster praising the merits of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO). Since 9 May 1955, the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) has been a full member of NATO.

In May 1957, in Bonn, Konrad Adenauer, Chancellor and Foreign Minister of the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG), delivers an address to the Council of Foreign Ministers of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) in which he emphasises the importance of NATO in countering the threat represented by the Soviet Union.

With the Korean War (1950–1953), the Communist threat seems to be more topical than ever. The Federal Republic of Germany (FRG), at the instigation of its Chancellor, Konrad Adenauer, is making every effort to integrate politically and militarily into the West. The end of the Allied occupation and accession to the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) in 1954, the creation of a new army in 1955 and the signing in 1957 of the Rome Treaties are allowing Germany, despite the failure of the proposed European Defence Community (EDC), to integrate fully into the Western bloc.

On 30 September 1984, 30 years after the signing of the London Agreements on 3 October 1954, the French daily newspaper Le Monde looks back on the events that led to the rearmament of West Germany.

On 20 January 1956, in Andernach, the German Chancellor, Konrad Adenauer, and his Minister for Defence, Theodor Blank, review the volunteers of the new Bundeswehr.

On 3 May 1948, the Luxembourg daily newspaper Luxemburger Wort reviews the American plans to provide military aid to Europe.

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 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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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, 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).

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.

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.

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.

On 18 June 1954, the Dutch daily newspaper Het Vrije Volk comments on the efforts made by the Soviet Union to link the economies of its satellite states with its own economic development.

On 22 March 1955, the Dutch daily newspaper Het Parool comments on Moscow’s desire to establish a military alliance known as the Warsaw Pact.

On 10 May 1955, the French daily newspaper Le Figaro emphasises that the Warsaw Conference (11–14 May 1955), which culminated in the signing of the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance (Warsaw Pact), simply confirms the state of affairs existing since the Korean War.

On 14 May 1955, in Warsaw, Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, the German Democratic Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania and the Soviet Union sign a Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance, known as the Warsaw Pact.

From 11 to 14 May 1955, the Conference of European Countries for the Preservation of Peace and Security in Europe is held in Warsaw. The communiqués published during the Conference refer to the agenda of the first three days.

Table showing the composition of the delegations from the USSR, Poland, Czechoslovakia, the German Democratic Republic (GDR), Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and Albania to the Warsaw Conference for the preservation of peace and security in Europe, held in Warsaw from 11 to 14 May 1955.

On 14 May 1955, the Soviet delegation, led by Vyacheslav Molotov, signs the Warsaw Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance in the presence of the representatives of Albania, Bulgaria, Poland and Romania, as well as a delegate from the People’s Republic of China.

On 17 May 1955, Jean Le Roy, French chargé d'affaires in Moscow, informs Antoine Pinay, French Foreign Minister, of the reactions in the countries of Eastern Europe to the signature three days earlier of the Warsaw Pact.

On 17 May 1955, the French daily newspaper Le Monde considers the political and military issues raised by the signing of the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance between Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, the German Democratic Republic (GDR), Hungary, Poland, Romania, and the Soviet Union.

On 31 May 1955, the Italian daily newspaper Corriere della Sera discusses the impact of the signing, on 14 May 1955, of the Warsaw Pact, a military agreement concluded between the USSR, Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, the German Democratic Republic, Hungary, Poland and Romania.

In June 1955, the monthly journal Études soviétiques, published by the Soviet Information Bureau in Paris, prints an article outlining the various obligations resulting from the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance signed by the USSR, Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, the German Democratic Republic, Hungary, Poland and Romania.

On 30 April 1956, Willi Stoph, the East German Defence Minister, leads the official ceremony to mark the presentation of the colours to the First Mechanised Regiment of the National People’s Army of the German Democratic Republic (GDR).

Map illustrating the growing influence of the Soviet Union in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe.