1988 Olympics

They hadn't happened yet when this speech was given, but the '88 Olympics were held in Seoul. And this was an ultra big deal because events were scheduled to happen in both North and South Korea. Reagan used this as an example of how sports make friends. He didn't mention the boycotts, terrorist attacks, and generally tense moments that had dominated the Olympics since the Cold War had started.

Anti-Fascist Protective Rampart

For the Soviets, the Berlin Wall was constructed to keep the fascists and Nazis from the West out of their personal space, so this is what they called it.

And it backfired in a huge way. People were dying—literally—to get their happy selves over to the "fascist" side of the wall.

August Coup

The beginning of the end for the Marked Man. In 1991, Gorbachev was kidnapped by his opponents and held for three days before being released. His I'm-in-control persona was seriously damaged by this event and he resigned his post four months later.

Berlin TV Tower at Alexanderplatz

The tallest building in Berlin, built by the East Germans in the late 1960s. When the light hits it just right, the reflection looks like a ginormous Christian cross, which really annoyed the Soviets. They tried to paint over it, but no dice. This phenomenon is often called "the Pope's revenge."

Berlin Wall

A collection of concrete, barbed wire, guard towers, and other fun stuff that encircled democratic, capitalist West Berlin. It was built by the Soviets starting in 1961 and was dismantled starting in 1989.

Berliner Schnauze

An actually nice way of describing the stereotypical person from Berlin. The owner of this schnauze is loud, maybe comes off as a little rude, and probably has a politically incorrect sense of humor. Sounds like our kind of schnauze.

P.S.: "Schnauze" is German for "muzzle" or "snout." It's not that Berliners have weird noses or anything—it's just that their dialect sounds a little nasal to other Germans.

Brandenburg Gate

Not only is this neoclassical, 18th-century architectural marvel a popular German landmark, it was also the last checkpoint between East and West Germany to be closed before the Berlin Wall was built.

History + symbolism = great place for a POTUS to give a speech.

East Berlin

The Soviet-controlled portion of Berlin that existed from 1949 to 1990.

East Germany

Also known as the German Democratic Republic, or GDR. East Germany was controlled by the Soviets and was in existence from 1949 until the country's reunification in 1990.

European Community

Not to be confused with the European Union, the European Community (technically called the European Economic Community, or EEC) was put together in 1957 to promote economic integration among its member countries.

The EEC was eventually absorbed into the European Union, which was created in 1993.

Evil Empire

Reagan's nickname for the Soviet Union, coined during a 1983 speech to the National Association of Evangelicals. (This was not the only George Lucas nod Reagan gave during his presidency—he also came up with a little project called "Star Wars.")

Four Power Agreement

Also called the Berlin Agreement, or, if you're into using big words, the Quadripartite Agreement on Berlin.

Basically, in 1971, the U.S., the U.K., France, and the U.S.S.R. sat down and plotted out what was going to happen to post-war Berlin. Did Germany have a say in this? No. And that was on purpose.

Geneva Conventions

Apparently we need a set of rules about how we can (or can't) treat certain groups of human beings during a war, and these are them. Ever wondered if it's okay to torture shipwrecked naval personnel or to starve POWs?

Now you know. It's not.

Glasnost

The word means "openness," and it basically meant that people were allowed to talk to each other about stuff without the fear of being hauled off to the gulag for it.

This was a new concept in the U.S.S.R. when it debuted in the late 1980s, and it went over pretty well with the people. (With the leadership, maybe not so much.)

Grunewald

An area of Berlin named for a circa-1543 hunting lodge that still exists nearby. Grunewald is famous for its beautiful forest, lakes, islets, and yuppie subdivisions.

Ku'damm

Short for Kurfürstendamm, the Ku'damm was Berlin's most famous street, kind of like 5th Avenue, Rodeo Drive, or the Champs-Elysees in Paris. It's full of shops, restaurants, hotels, galleries, and tourists walking way too slowly.

Marshall Plan

Named for U.S. Sec'y of State, George Marshall, the Marshall Plan gave $13 billion (yeah, with a "b") of America's money to European countries to help them rebuild after World War II.

NATO

North Atlantic Treaty Organization, founded in 1949. It's a military alliance where all of the member countries pinky-swear to help out other member countries if they're attacked. The only time this promise was ever invoked was after the 9/11 attacks on the United States.

Perestroika

This was Gorbachev's attempt to reform the economic workings of the Soviet Union. Gorby didn't think opening up economic markets would cause the U.S.S.R. to collapse, but it pretty much did.

Politburo

The top tier of the Communist Party where decisions are made and actions are justified.

The Reichstag Building

Where German Parliament meets. Or rather, where they met until 1933, when the building was nearly destroyed. It was all fixed up and made snazzy again by 1999, so Parliament meets there now.

SALT II

The SALT II talks between the U.S. and U.S.S.R. took place from 1972 to 1979 and were an attempt to limit the manufacturing of specific types of weapons and to ban new missile programs.

The talks were pretty effective…or pretty ineffective, if you were hoping for nuclear war.

SS-20 Missile

A Soviet intermediate-range nuclear missile that scared the pants off the U.S. and led to all kinds of weapons development—and their subsequent ban.

Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI)

Called "Star Wars" by its critics (until its supporters decided that was an awesome name and adopted it), SDI was a missile defense system proposed by Reagan in 1983. The goal was to be able to intercept missiles launched by the enemy before they had a chance to do any serious damage.

Tiergarten

Another part of Berlin famous for its pretty, forested park (lots of pretty forests in Germany) and for being the location of the Reichstag building.

West Berlin

The democratic capitalist part of Berlin, the brainchild of the Western allies, which found itself walled in by the Soviets one day in 1961.

West Germany

Also known as the Federal Republic of Germany, or FRG, West Germany existed from 1949 until Germany was reunified in 1989.

Wirtschaftswunder

West Germany's "economic miracle." FRG leaders instituted a bunch of Western-type economic policies and their economy took off like a bolt of capitalist lightning.