The Contracting Parties, reaffirming their determination to establish a system of collective security in Europe based on the participation of all European states, irrespective of their social or political systems, thereby enabling them to combine their efforts in the interests of safeguarding peace in Europe; taking into account the situation that has arisen in Europe following the ratification of the Paris Agreements, which provide for the creation of a new military grouping, including a remilitarised West Germany and its integration into the North Atlantic bloc, thereby increasing the danger of a new war and posing a threat to the national security of the peace-loving states; convinced that, under these circumstances, the peace-loving states of Europe should take the necessary measures to ensure their security and preserve peace in Europe; guided by the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations; and acting in the interests of further strengthening and developing friendship, cooperation and mutual assistance in accordance with the principles of respect for the independence and sovereignty of states and non-interference in their internal affairs, have resolved to conclude the present Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance…

Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance, 14 May 1955

Between Theory and Practice

Fine rhetoric about peace in Europe, declarations of respect for the independence of the member states, and promises of “friendship, cooperation and mutual assistance” – these were the striking ideas with which the text of the Warsaw Pact opened. Taken at face value, these words might suggest that the Eastern Bloc, led by the Soviet Union, was committed to preserving peace and stability in Europe. In reality, however, the proclaimed reasons for the Pact’s creation differed markedly from its true motives and objectives.

The origins of this decision can be traced back to the mid-1940s, when the Cold War began to emerge between the West – particularly the United States – and the Soviet Union together with the Eastern Bloc. One of the earliest manifestations of this conflict was the division of Germany into two separate states in 1949: the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG), aligned with the United States, and the German Democratic Republic (GDR), which was subordinated to the Soviet Union. Even more significant was the establishment of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in the same year. Its founding members were: USA, Great Britain, Canada, France, italy, Belgium, Denmark, Norway, Iceland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Portugal. In 1955, under the terms of the Paris Agreements of 1954, the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) was also admitted to NATO, with its rearmament formally approved.

The Warsaw Pact, established on 14 May 1955, comprised the Soviet Union, Poland, the German Democratic Republic (GDR), Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania and Albania (whose membership was suspended in 1961 and which formally withdrew from the Pact in 1968). The organisation was structured around both political and military bodies.

The creation of the Warsaw Pact was therefore the communist bloc’s response to NATO. Officially, it was presented as a defensive alliance intended to safeguard the security of the Eastern Bloc. In reality, however, the surviving documentation tells a different story.

The Third World War

The available documentary evidence leaves little room for doubt: the Warsaw Pact was conceived as a potentially offensive military alliance. The armed forces of the Eastern Bloc were trained and prepared for military operations against NATO member states. Put simply, they were preparing for the possibility of a Third World War. Fortunately, the Third World War never came. During its existence from 1955 to 1991, the Warsaw Pact carried out only one military intervention. This was “Operation Danube” in 1968 – the invasion of Czechoslovakia, launched to suppress the “Prague Spring”. Although Romania refused to participate in the operation, General James Hilliard Polk, then Commander-in-Chief of the United States Army Europe, later observed:

“…it was a first-rate military operation – well organised and coordinated, effectively concealed, and executed with remarkable speed.”

This leaves one final question: what became of the proclaimed “sovereignty and independence” of the Pact’s member states?

Sovereignty, Soviet Style

The documents establishing the Warsaw Pact were signed in Warsaw, from which the alliance derived its commonly used name. This was a deliberate choice. It created the impression that Moscow was not “pulling all the strings”, but that the Pact represented a joint initiative undertaken by several sovereign states. In reality, however, this was little more than propaganda. The alliance’s military headquarters was located in Moscow. The role of the Joint Armed Forces Staff was performed by the 10th Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). The Commander-in-Chief of the Joint Armed Forces of the Warsaw Pact simultaneously served as the First Deputy Minister of Defence of the USSR. The post was held successively by Marshal Ivan Konev, Marshal Andrei Grechko, Marshal Ivan Yakubovsky, Marshal Viktor Kulikov and General Pyotr Lushev. It is equally difficult to speak of “non-interference” in the internal affairs of member states in light of the 1968 intervention in Czechoslovakia.

The Decline of the Alliance

The turn of the 1980s and 1990s brought fundamental changes to the political and military landscape of the world. The weakening Soviet Union began to gradually soften its policies. These changes also affected the Warsaw Pact. In 1989, the decision was taken to abandon the “Brezhnev Doctrine”, which allowed intervention in member states of the Pact in cases where communist interests were considered to be under threat. The most notable example of its application had been “Operation Danube” in 1968. In February 1991, military cooperation within the alliance was terminated, and in July of the same year its political structures were dissolved. This marked the end of the Warsaw Pact.

Piotr Bosko

Translated from Polish by Małgorzata Giełzakowska