Brookings Institution

It sounds like a mysterious shadow company in a Marvel movie, but it's actually one of the oldest think tanks in Washington, and one of the groups behind the Marshall Plan. While the Institution calls itself non-partisan, critics have labeled it liberal.

Communism

A far left-wing philosophy that looks like totalitarianism when its run by dudes like Stalin. Demand is determined by the government, and everyone gets the same thing as everyone else. In theory, everyone is supposed to be equal, but in practice...

Eastern Bloc

This was the broad term for communist countries in Eastern Europe aligned, willingly or not, with the Soviet Union. Places like Poland or East Germany. (Surprise, surprise: these countries refused money from the Marshall Plan.)

European Recovery Program

Also known as the ERP, this is the fancy-schmancy name for the Marshall Plan. It's a blanket term for a number of Congressional Acts that were the actual laws that sent the money overseas.

Fascism

A far right-wing philosophy that ends up producing totalitarianism…and way worse. Nationalism, which is like patriotism on steroids, and nativism, which is a nice word for racism, are the orders of the day.

In theory, every person of the right ethnic group is supposed to get a better standard of living, but in practice, it doesn't work that way. Nazi Germany was a good example of a fascist country.

Germany

You know what Germany is: it's the country that brought you bratwurst, sauerkraut, and words like Massenkommunikationsdienstleistungsunternehmen (companies providing mass communications services).

The important thing is that in the wake of the war, it had been split in half, with West Germany being occupied and overseen by the United States, Britain, and France and East Germany being occupied and overseen by the Soviet Union.

Molotov Plan

The Soviet Union's answer to the Marshall Plan that sent money to Eastern Bloc allies. It was named after its architect, the Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov.

Yeah: the Molotov cocktail was also named after that guy.

Truman Doctrine

President Truman was not a big fan of communism. The Truman Doctrine was the term for his foreign policy designed specifically to stop the spread of communism. The Marshall Plan could be seen as a small part of it, or at least having similar goals.