Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book explores the fascinating story of how the penniless London-based Polish writer Joseph Retinger turned into an influential informal diplomat who stood at the origins not just of the Bilderberg Group but also of the European Movement. It shows how Retinger assembled a leading group of Europeans to analyze Europe's anti-American turn in the early 1950s and how this led to the first Bilderberg conference. The book shows how emotions turned out to be an important category of analysis for understanding the transatlantic alliance and its anti-communist underpinnings. It deals with a problem that essentially remained unsolved: the question of nuclear strategy and control within North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The book examines how the Bilderberg Group responded to President de Gaulle's return to power in 1958.