West Germany Joins NATO
1955-05-06
At 2:46 p.m. on 6 May 1955, Heinz Krekeler handed West Germany’s instrument of accession to Secretary of State John Foster Dulles in Washington. The deposit made the Federal Republic a member of NATO. [2]
The proposed European Defence Community would have placed West German forces within a European army, but the French parliament rejected it in 1954. Negotiations in London and Paris then opened a route to NATO membership. The occupation regime ended on 5 May 1955, although the Western powers retained rights concerning Berlin and Germany as a whole. [2] [1]
NATO membership tied West German rearmament to the defense of Western Europe, a policy fiercely contested by opponents at home who feared it would make German division harder to overcome. Three days after the Washington deposit, Konrad Adenauer attended the NATO ministerial meeting in Paris, where the Federal Republic’s flag was raised. [2] [1]
Related Diplomats
Sources
- The Bundestag approves the Paris Treaties — German Bundestag
European Defence Community, parliamentary dispute, and reserved Allied rights
- Krekeler’s accession telegram and archival commentary — German Foreign Office Political Archive
PA AA, B 130-VS-REG/3446A; deposit and Paris ceremony
Related Reading
Cite This Article
West Germany Joins NATO. Chanceries Diplopedia. Record 712a845abc1f31de99b0. https://chanceries.org/research/history/germany-nato-4c6e4bb4ca/