Warsaw Pact
Gabriel Gullion
The Warsaw Treaty (or commonly referred to as the Warsaw Pact) was an organized military alliance, created on May 14, 1955. It was formed between the Soviet Union and various Eastern European countries. Its formation served as a counteraction to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) by communist powers. When formed, the Pact was seen as a military threat to NATO and America’s capitalism.
Nikita Khrushchev
Soviet Union Leader (1955 - 1964) |
In early May of 1955, the Federal Republic of Germany entered NATO. The Soviet Union created the Warsaw Treaty Organization fearing the increased strength of NATO and the rearming of West Germany. They enacted the treaty to contain West Germany and to utilize it as a negotiation device to NATO. In the beginning, the Warsaw Pact was used to monitor the Soviet allies, however as the alliance grew, it focused on building up allied militaries.
The Warsaw Pact’s conditions included: “total equality, mutual noninterference in internal affairs, and respect for national sovereignty and independence.” The Pact was set to continue for 30 years under the condition that none of the members left during that time period. Both NATO and the Pact did not have any direct confrontations over their lives. Although, most conflicts were fought out in proxy wars. The Warsaw Pact’s largest confrontation was their invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968. |
Excluding Romania and Albania, 5 Warsaw Pact nations and 250,000 troops attacked Czechoslovakia during the night hours. The attack was successful in stopping Alexander Dubček's Prague Spring liberalization reforms which threatened the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (KSČ). This allowed the KSČ to gain power in Czechoslovakia, effectively increasing the Communist powers in that nation. As a result, Albania dropped out of the alliance shortly after the invasion of Czechoslovakia.
The forming of the Warsaw Pact was motivated by Nikita Khrushchev, the Soviet leader, who wanted global dominance of communism. However, as communist powers experienced losses the Warsaw Pact quickly decreased in strength. In 1991, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Poland, and Germany decided to discontinue participation in the Pact and in late 1991 the Warsaw Pact was completely disbanded.
Warsaw pact & NATo 1955
sources
- “APPENDIX C: THE WARSAW PACT -- Soviet Union.” Library of Congress. 12 May 2008
- “The Warsaw Treaty Organization, 1955.” U.S. Department of State, U.S. Department of State, history.state.gov/milestones/1953-1960/warsaw-treaty.
- “THE WARSAW PACT.” Cold War Museum, www.coldwar.org/articles/50s/TheWarsawPact.asp.
- “Soviet Invasion of Czechoslovakia, 1968.” U.S. Department of State, U.S. Department of State, history.state.gov/milestones/1961-1968/soviet-invasion-czechoslavkia.