may 5, 1955 - West Germany joins NATO

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On May 5, 1955, the American, French, and British forces formally ended their military occupation of West Germany, which became an independent country. Four days later, West Germany was made a member of NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization). France was reluctant to see a rearmed Germany even as an ally, while the U.S. saw this as vital in remilitarizing West Germany to set up a defensive front and to contain any further Soviet expansion. The Soviet response was immediate and on May 14, 1955, the Soviet Union established the Warsaw Pact, a military alliance between Russia and its Eastern European territories, including East Germany.

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