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The Wall at NATO Headquarters, Casteau

© Photo courtesy of NATO

One of NATO’s two military headquarters in Europe (Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers in Europe, SHAPE) is located near the small Belgian town of Mons, near the village of Casteau. This is secondary to NATO’s political headquarters in Brussels. Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers in Europe (SHAPE) is situated in Casteau, north of the small Belgian city of Bons. A building, which was once of special significance during the Cold War, stands on this expansive military site. A special unit made up of western Allies was housed in the so-called “Live Oak building”. It would have been the unit’s job to to defend and support the western sectors if the Soviets cordoned off the West again – as they had done during the Berlin Blockade in 1948–1949.

The unit was established in 1959 by France, Great Britain and the USA. Under the codename “Live Oak”, it surveyed access to and from West Berlin.

Originally located near Paris, the unit was transferred to Belgium when France withdrew from NATO in 1967. After the building of the Wall in 1961, a delegate from the Federal Republic was also stationed at the unit and it was this person’s job to make contact with the federal government in the event of a crisis.