Look back on 70 years of NATO with our newly digitised collection

Background to Berlin. NAT 2038 - Reel 2

350 hours of newly-digitised NATO footage now available for licensing via IWM Film

Following an extensive digitisation project commissioned by NATO to mark their 70 year anniversary, over 2000 titles of official footage will be available to view and license via IWM Film. This project is part of an exclusive global licensing distribution partnership between IWM and NATO.

The NATO film collection comprises approximately 350 hours of film material taken in the late 1940s through to the 1990s, including documentaries and newsreels in both colour and black and white film.

Providing a unique insight into the Cold War era, early films depict the rush to create economic, political and military stability in post-war Europe, whilst later films encourage international unity and concepts of shared peace and security.

Hidden gems include colour footage of a divided Berlin in the 1960s and Humphrey Jennings’ final film. Other highlights from the over 2000 titles include the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty on 4 April 1949, intervention in the Bosnian war (1992-1995), as well as a documentary film about how the alliance works. 

Contact us for licensing enquiries

IWM has an in-perpetuity, exclusive, worldwide right to utilise the digitised NATO collection, including licensing broadcast quality video content to media buyers. For assistance with research or information about access to the collection, please contact us at: filmcommercial@iwm.org.uk

View NATO films currently available on the IWM Film site. The sub-sections include:

Marshall Plan Films (1949-1954)
SHAPE Film Library (1944-1964)
NATO Documentaries (1952-1990)
NATO Log Collection (1965-1994)

"The digitisation of this important collection was the result of a four-year effort by a dedicated team to sift, sort and catalogue the nearly 17,000 reels of film originally deposited with IWM by NATO. The work has not only resulted in the creation of high-quality 2K digital access files of the films, but also facilitated the storage of original film masters in suitable archival conditions for their long-term preservation."
David Walsh, Digitisation Preservation Consultant at IWM

“It is very timely this film collection is available at the moment of NATO’s 70th Anniversary, with so much reflection now taking place on the long history since the beginning of that transatlantic bond. The materials digitized by IWM represent some of the key moments in time, with some very rare footage, for telling the story of the Alliance to the world. NATO is grateful for the invaluable expertise from IWM to help the Alliance preserve this important collection and make it available for a new generation of storytellers to share NATO’s history.”
Ineke Deserno, Head of Archives at NATO

Nearly seventy years after President Harry Truman signed the North Atlantic Treaty, the leaders of NATO's 29 countries will gather in London in December for a special meeting to mark the alliance's anniversary.