NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, was created on April 4, 1949 with the aim, above all, of containing the threat of Soviet expansion in Europe after World War II. In addition, the United States viewed the alliance as an instrument for preventing the revival of nationalist tendencies in Europe and for promoting political integration on the continent.
However, the idea of its emergence goes back to the distant year 1947, when Great Britain and France signed the Dunkirk Treaty, creating an alliance intended to counter a possible German attack after the end of the war. Initially, the 12 founding members of the political and military alliance NATO were the USA, Great Britain, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway and Portugal.
