Seventy-three years ago today, on May 26, 1952 (May 3, 1952), the United States, Britain, France and West Germany signed the Treaty of Bonn. In the early 1950s, the rivalry between East and West continued to intensify. In order to counter the Soviet Union, the Western Allies wanted to establish a "European Defense Group" that would include West Germany, that is, to rearm West Germany. At this time, Germany's relations with the Western occupying powers also needed to be adjusted so that Germany could provide troops for the Western Defense Alliance. On May 26, 1952, the United States, Britain, France and West Germany signed the Treaty of Bonn, which consisted of a series of agreements and annexes such as the Treaty on Relations between the Three Countries and the Federal Republic of Germany, and the Treaty on the Rights and Duties of Foreign Armies and Personnel in the Territory of the Federal Republic of Germany. It stipulated that the three countries of the United States, Britain and France abolished the law of occupation, but the troops of the three countries remained in West Germany; the Federal Republic of Germany participated in the "European Defense Group". Due to the French veto in August 1954, the "European Defense Group" could not be formed, but West Germany was still rearmed in another form.