MANIPULATION: The U.S. showed its hostile position by rejecting the USSR’s NATO membership on May 7, 1954

Information is being circulated online claiming that by rejecting the USSR’s application for NATO membership on May 7, 1954, the United States clearly demonstrated its hostile stance, which subsequently led to the arms race and the escalation of the Cold War between the two countries. 

However, this is manipulation. The USSR deliberately made this proposal and included demands that were unacceptable to NATO. Soviet leaders understood that if the alliance refused, they could accuse it of an aggressive stance, and if accepted, they would block the organization’s work. Moreover, the USSR was not ready to adopt the democratic principles necessary for NATO membership.

In February 1954, the then Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov, at the Berlin Conference of Foreign Ministers, proposed that instead of creating the European Defense Community (EDC), which involved rearming West Germany, a pan-European collective security treaty should be concluded. This proposal included:

• Unification of Germany (after World War II, Germany was divided into West Germany, controlled by the U.S., the UK, and France, and East Germany, controlled by the USSR);
• Prohibition of Germany from joining any military alliances;
• Granting the U.S. observer status, rather than active membership, in the treaty proposed by the USSR (which actually was stripping Washington of the ability to influence the bloc’s operations).

NATO rejected the Soviet proposals, as it believed the USSR aimed to halt the formation of the EDC and divide the alliance by excluding the U.S. Following this, on March 31, 1954, the USSR expressed readiness to discuss joining NATO. In a note sent to the U.S., France, and the UK, Molotov agreed to the U.S. participation in the European collective security treaty. However, he added the requirement that NATO must “cease to be a closed military alliance of states and become open to other European countries”, referring to the so-called “people’s democracies“, which were Soviet satellites.

In any case, this move was advantageous for the Soviet Union. If NATO agreed to this proposal, the USSR could block the alliance’s work, where all decisions are made by consensus. Conversely, if NATO rejected the USSR, it would be an excellent pretext for accusing the West of militarism and unwillingness to accept Moscow’s peace proposals. Molotov specifically mentioned this in a memorandum to the Presidium of the USSR, including the then First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, Nikita Khrushchev, and the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR, Georgy Malenkov.

“Most likely, the organizers of the North Atlantic bloc will react negatively to this step of the Soviet government and will advance many different objections. In that event the governments of the three powers  (France, the U.S., and the UK — ed.) will have exposed themselves, once again, as the organizers of a military bloc against other states and it would strengthen the position of social forces conducting a struggle against the formation of the European Defense Community.” Molotov noted. He also added that if the USSR were accepted into NATO, it would be a significant success: “The USSR joining the North Atlantic Pact simultaneously with the conclusion of a General European Agreement on Collective Security in Europe would also undermine plans for the creation of the European Defense Community and the remilitarization of West Germany.”

At the same time, Molotov understood that if the USSR joined the alliance, it would be expected to adhere to democratic principles, which the USSR was not ready to do. “If the question of the USSR joining it (NATO — ed.) became a practical proposition, it would be necessary to raise the issue of all participants in the agreement undertaking a commitment (in the form of a joint declaration, for example) on the inadmissibility of interference in the internal affairs of states and respect for the principles of state independence and sovereignty,” wrote the Foreign Minister.

This unpreparedness for cooperation was also noted by NATO’s first Secretary General, Hastings Ismay, after receiving the Soviet note. “The preamble of the (North Atlantic — ed.) Treaty obliges all partners to support personal freedom and the democratic way of life. Could the Soviet Union agree with this belief? Again, all treaty partners have no secrets from each other. Each of them opens to the other 13 its clear economic, military, and industrial position; and furthermore, allows its allies to undergo thorough cross-checks on these matters. Is Soviet Russia ready to do this?” asked the Secretary General. Given these circumstances, on May 7, 1954, NATO countries rejected the Soviet Union’s proposal, stating that the USSR’s membership in the organization was incompatible with its democratic and defense goals.