Warsaw Pact

Pałac Prezydencki w Warszawie korpus główny 2019

Warsaw Pact 1955

Iron Curtain map

Soviet big 7

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Bundesarchiv Bild 183-1987-0529-029, Berlin, Tagung Warschauer Pakt, Gruppenfoto

Warsaw Pact was a collective defense treaty established by the Soviet Union and seven other Eastern Bloc socialist republics of Europe in 1955 in Warsaw, Poland. Officially known as the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance, the Warsaw Pact was the military complement to the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (Comecon), the regional economic organization for the socialist states of Central and Eastern Europe. The Warsaw Pact was created in reaction to the integration of West Germany into NATO in 1955 per the Paris Pacts of 1954, which it viewed as a potential threat. The Pact was a significant component of the Cold War as it constituted the military alignment of Eastern Europe against NATO and the Western bloc.

Formation and Membership

The Warsaw Pact was signed on 14 May 1955, with the founding members being the Soviet Union, Albania (which withdrew in 1968), Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, and Romania. The organization was a unified military command under the leadership of the Soviet Union and served as a counterbalance to NATO, ensuring that Eastern Europe remained within the Soviet sphere of influence.

Structure and Function

The highest decision-making body of the Warsaw Pact was the Political Consultative Committee, which convened at least twice a year. The Committee was responsible for discussing and coordinating all political and military issues affecting the member states. The Warsaw Pact also established a unified military command structure, with the Soviet Union's Marshal Ivan Konev appointed as the first Supreme Commander in 1955. The Pact included joint military exercises and plans for the defense of member countries, as well as the maintenance of a large standing force in Eastern Europe.

Impact and Legacy

Throughout its existence, the Warsaw Pact played a crucial role in the Cold War's geopolitical landscape. It was involved in several key events, including the suppression of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution and the 1968 Prague Spring in Czechoslovakia, demonstrating the Soviet Union's willingness to use military force to maintain control over its satellite states. The Warsaw Pact's military presence in Central and Eastern Europe was a constant reminder of the division of Europe into two antagonistic blocs.

The dissolution of the Warsaw Pact began with the fall of communist regimes in Eastern Europe in 1989 and the subsequent reunification of Germany in 1990. The formal dissolution of the Warsaw Pact was declared on 1 July 1991, as the Cold War came to an end and the Soviet Union itself dissolved later that year. The end of the Warsaw Pact marked a significant moment in European history, symbolizing the end of decades of political and military tension between the East and West and the beginning of a new era of European integration and cooperation.

See Also

• Cold War
• NATO
• Soviet Union
• Eastern Bloc
• Council for Mutual Economic Assistance