Warsaw Pact

The Warsaw Pact, officially the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance, was an organization of Central and Eastern European states. The communist states were to be allies and to fight together if one of them was attacked. In theory, all of the countries in the organisation were equals, the smaller countries were controlled by the Soviet Union.[1] The countries in the Warsaw Pact were East Germany, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and Albania. However, Albania withdrew in 1968 after the invasion of Czechoslovakia, and Romania followed.

Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance
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AbbreviationWTO, WAPA, DDSV
MottoUnion of peace and socialism
TypeMilitary alliance
HeadquartersMoscow, Soviet Union
Membership
Supreme Commander
Chief of Combined Staff
AffiliationsCouncil for Mutual Economic Assistance
File:Europe-blocs-49-89x4.svg
The political situation in Europe during the Cold War.
Distinguish from the Warsaw Convention, which is an agreement about financial liability in air travel, and the Treaty of Warsaw (1970) between West Germany and the People's Republic of Poland.

It was established in 1955 in Warsaw, Poland, in response to West Germany joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The treaty was signed in Warsaw, on 14 May 1955 and official copies were made in the languages of Russian, Polish, Czech and German. The Pact lasted until the end of the Cold War, when some members quit in 1991, following the collapse of the Eastern bloc and political changes in the Soviet Union.[2]

All of the Warsaw Pact countries and three that were part of the Soviet Union have joined NATO.

Members

Most member states were considered puppet states of the Soviet Union. Additionally, Mongolia, North Korea, Vietnam and (until 1961) China were observer states.

Country Status
Template:Country data People's Socialist Republic of Albania (until 1968) Satellite state (until 1961)
Independent (1961-1968)
22x20px Bulgaria Satellite state
 Czechoslovakia Satellite state
22x20px East Germany Satellite state
File:Flag of Hungary.svg Hungary Satellite state
 Poland Satellite state
 Romania Satellite state (Until 1965)
Independent (After 1965)
File:Flag of the Soviet Union.svg Soviet Union Main contributor

Warsaw Pact Media

References

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Notes

  1. Withheld support in 1961 due to the Soviet–Albanian split, but formally withdrew in 1968.