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Since 1949, NATO has had more influence on European and global security policy than any other organization. Article 5 of the alliance’s treaty requires it to defend any member state that is attacked. Is the world’s largest military alliance ready for this? On the occasion of its 75th anniversary, this documentary looks at NATO’s past, present and future, explaining, among other things, that Article 5 of its founding document is not binding on its members at all, that the necessary unanimity of member states is not self-evident and that the speed required to deploy troops and provide supplies can be limited. The film takes us through the alliance from Tallinn, Estonia, where NATO’s cyber defense center is located, through Ulm, Germany, where transportation and logistics are organized, to NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, where all political decisions are made. The film interviews current and former senior generals and security experts from within the alliance. With the help of world historians, he looks back over 75 years of NATO’s history. Founded after the catastrophes of World War II, the alliance’s founders were not only concerned with deterring external enemies, but above all with ensuring peace between the alliance’s partners, partly because of the fear that Germany might regain its strength. The film uses never-before-seen film material: images of the member states, commissioned by NATO in the 1950s, with the aim of familiarizing NATO soldiers with the country in which they were stationed, ensuring better understanding with their local counterparts and strengthening their cohesion. Contemporary witnesses such as John Bolton, Donald Trump’s former security adviser, and chief diplomat Wolfgang Ischinger, comment on important events in NATO’s recent history: To what extent was the US intention to leave in 2018 realistic? What would have been the consequences? Was there a promise after the collapse of the Soviet Union not to expand NATO eastward? A question that had a major impact on the relationship between Russia and NATO. #Documentary #DW #NATO A call for dialogue at DW: https://p.dw.com/p/OYIo More documentaries can be found on our websites in English: http://www.dw.com/ar/tv/docfilm/s-3610 / dwdocumentary / dw.stories