North+Atlantic+Treaty+Organization

NATO stands for The North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It was orginally formed counter the rise force of the Communist East. After WWII there was still a great fear of the Soviet Army that occupied much of western europe and german aggression. The nations of western europe seeked a new military alliance to protect themselves. On April 5th 1949 The North Atlantic Treaty was signed. Which included Britan, Canada, and The United States along with other European country's. This new treaty alowed european alliances to expand. There was a huge debate over wether or not West Germany should be allowed inti the NATO alliance. Due to Gremany's large involvement in WWII many people were unsteady about the idea. In May of 1955 West Germany was allowed to join the NATO alliance. NATO was greatly involved in the Cold War. During the Cold War there was alot of tension between NATO and the Warsaw Pact.After the Cold War new nations were included in the NATO alliance. NATO now includes Albania, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cnada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Turkey, United Kingdom, and the United States.