In the same month, the western part of Germany officially became a new
nation, the Federal Republic of Germany, also called West Germany. It included
West Berlin. A few months later, from its occupation zone, the Soviet Union creat-
ed the German Democratic Republic, called East Germany. It included East Berlin.
THE NATO ALLIANCE
The Berlin
blockade increased Western European
fear of Soviet aggression. As a result,
ten Western European nations—
Belgium, Denmark, France, Great
Britain, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg,
the Netherlands, Norway, and
Portugal—joined with the United
States and Canada on April 4, 1949, to
form a defensive military alliance
called the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization (NATO). (See map,
page 830.) The 12 members of NATO
pledged military support to one
another in case any member was
attacked. For the first time in its histo-
ry, the United States had entered into
a military alliance with other nations
during peacetime. The Cold War had
ended any hope of a return to U.S.
isolationism. Greece and Turkey joined
NATO in 1952, and West Germany
joined in 1955. By then, NATO kept a
standing military force of more than
500,000 troops as well as thousands of
planes, tanks, and other equipment.
814 C
HAPTER 26
•United Nations (UN)
•satellite nation
•containment
•iron curtain
•Cold War
•Truman Doctrine
•Marshall Plan
•Berlin airlift
•North Atlantic Treaty
Organization (NATO)
1. TERMS & NAMES For each term or name, write a sentence explaining its significance.
MAIN IDEA
2. TAKING NOTES
Use a graphic organizer like the one
below to describe the U.S. actions
and the Soviet actions that
contributed most to the Cold War.
Write a paragraph explaining which
country was more responsible and
why you think so.
CRITICAL THINKING
3. EVALUATING LEADERSHIP
People who had served as aides to
President Franklin Roosevelt worried
that Truman was not qualified to
handle world leadership. Considering
what you learned in this section,
evaluate Truman as a world leader.
Think About:
• his behavior toward Stalin
• his economic support of
European nations
• his support of West Berlin
4. MAKING INFERENCES
Which of the two superpowers do
you think was more successful in
achieving its aims during the period
1945–1949? Support your answer
by referring to historical events.
5. ANALYZING MOTIVES
What were Stalin’s motives in
supporting Communist governments
in Eastern Europe?
U.S. Actions Soviet
Actions
▼
This cartoon depicts the nations that signed the North Atlantic Pact,
which created NATO in 1949. The nations, shown as hats, are arranged
in a pyramid to show the bigger countries on the bottom supporting the
smaller, weaker nations on top.