(dramatic music) - [Kevin] On 4 April, 1949, 12 founding nations signed a treaty that would become the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, or NATO.

Following the devastation of the Second World War, the world needed to rebuild and nations looked to either the United States, or the Soviet Union for assistance.

The USSR oversaw the installation of pro-Soviet governments in its newly controlled lands.

While the Americans used the Marshall Plan to provide relief to war torn Europe.

Within years a tangible East-West divide was apparent.

After the Berlin blockade and the 1948 coup of Czechoslovakia created a communist state, Europe and the US began discussions of a mutual defense pack.

The NATO treaty is derived from Article 51 of the United Nations Charter, which reaffirms the inherent right of independent states to individual, or collective defense.

The collective defense is at the heart of the NATO Treaty and is enshrined at Article 5.

Today, túhere are currently 30 countries in NATO.

(dramatic music continues)