The founding of the Warsaw Pact

On 14 May 1955, the leader of the Soviet Union and leaders from seven European countries met to sign the Warsaw Pact.

In the years following World War Two, the Soviet Union and the United States started the worldwide Cold War. While Western powers feared the spread of communism, the Soviets worried about US atomic bombs.

What resulted was the formation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) in 1949.

The Warsaw Pact was signed six years later in response to West Germany joining NATO.

Natasha Fernandes uses archive of East Germany’s leader Otto Grotewohl to tell the story.

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(Photo: Soviet Premier, Nikolai Bulganin (centre) addresses Soviet leaders at the Warsaw Conference on 14 May 1955. From left to right: Marshal Ivan Koniev, Minister Vyacheslav Molotov, Bulganin and Marshal Gregori Zhukov. Credit: Bettmann via Getty images)