In the years that followed the end of the Second World War, the post-war world that many in the

West had hoped for never materialized. Their former ally, the Soviet Union, turned from friend

to foe. They installed puppet communist governments in all the countries they occupied when

pushing their way to Germany, and now the concern was that the Soviets would try to take over

the rest of Europe. In response, 12 nations

in Western Europe and North America joined together in a military alliance, the likes of which

had not been seen before in world history. Learn more about NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty

Organization, how it formed and how it evolved on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. How would it more time with the and for your loveling's podcast to have? With the Reve Appal Service get that. Bestell your own online and getw him bequem and ready-gaped in market up, naturally, without minest-bestow-wet. So, you'll more time for the next podcast or your leadlings'. Now out of Reve. At Reve. slash shop or in the Reve app. Your Reve Appell service. Online bestell, in market abholing. I'm David Remnick hosted the New Yorker Radio Hour. There's nothing like finding a story you can really sink into

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In the aftermath of World War II, Europe's political landscape was highly unstable. Much of

Western Europe lay in ruins, communist movements were gaining influence,

and the Soviet Union had established control over Eastern Europe, forming what Winston Churchill

famously called the Iron Curtain. The Western democracies, led by the United States, Britain,

and France, recognized the need for a permanent military and political structure to guarantee

security against potential

Soviet aggression.

The Berlin blockade of 1948 and 1949, in which the Soviet Union tried to force the Western

allies out of Berlin, underscored the urgency of such a defensive alliance.

...