Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation

{{Infobox organization

| name = Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation

| logo =

| type = Non-profit

| tax_id = 52-1920858

| founded_date = 1994

| founders = {{unbulleted list|Lee Edwards|Lev Dobriansky|Zbigniew Brzezinski{{cite news | work=The New York Times | last=Smith | first=Dinitia | title=For the Victims of Communism | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/12/23/arts/for-the-victims-of-communism.html | date=December 23, 1995 | access-date=November 4, 2009 | archive-date=September 24, 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190924092310/https://www.nytimes.com/1995/12/23/arts/for-the-victims-of-communism.html | url-status=live }}}}

| location = Washington, D.C., U.S.

| origins =

| key_people = {{unbulleted list| Elizabeth Spalding, Chairman{{cite web |url=https://victimsofcommunism.org/about/leadership/ |title=Leadership |last= |first= |date= |website= |publisher=Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation |access-date= August 13, 2023 |quote= }}}}

| focus = Anti-communism

| revenue =

| endowment =

| num_volunteers =

| num_employees =

| num_members =

| homepage = {{URL|https://victimsofcommunism.org}}

}}

The Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation (VOC) is a non-profit anti-communist organization in the United States, set up by an Act of Congress in 1993 to raise money to create "a national memorial to honor the victims of communism".{{cite news | last=Rauch | first=Jonathan | work=The Atlantic | date=December 2003 | title=The Forgotten Millions | url=https://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200312/rauch | access-date=November 4, 2009 | archive-date=October 11, 2008 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081011234624/http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200312/rauch | url-status=live }}

The organization was responsible for building the Victims of Communism Memorial in Washington, D.C. It is a member of the European Union's Platform of European Memory and Conscience.

History

File:Goddess of Democracy DC defy censorship.JPG is a recreation of the Goddess of Democracy, which was destroyed by the government of China in the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre]]

In 1991, Republican Senator Steve Symms and Representative Dana Rohrabacher introduced concurrent resolutions in the United States Congress urging the construction of "an International Memorial to the Victims of Communism at an appropriate location within the boundaries of the District of Columbia and for the appointment of a commission to oversee the design, construction and all other pertinent details of the memorial."{{cite web | title=S. Con. Res. 55 | work=thomas.loc.gov | publisher=Library of Congress | url=http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c102:S.CON.RES.55: | access-date=November 5, 2009 | date=July 26, 1991 | archive-date=July 4, 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160704190126/http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c102:S.CON.RES.55: | url-status=live }}{{cite web | title=H. Con. Res. 228 | work=thomas.loc.gov | publisher=Library of Congress | url=http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c102:H.CON.RES.228: | archive-url=https://archive.today/20120720133025/http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c102:H.CON.RES.228: | url-status=dead | archive-date=July 20, 2012 | access-date=November 5, 2009 | year=1991 }}

In 1993, Rohrabacher and fellow Republican Senator Jesse Helms sponsored amendments to the FRIENDSHIP Act of 1993 which authorized such construction.{{cite news | work=The New York Times | title=U.S. Laws Catch Up to the New Russia | date=November 29, 1993 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/11/29/us/us-laws-catch-up-to-the-new-russia.html | access-date=November 5, 2009 | archive-date=May 26, 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150526095014/http://www.nytimes.com/1993/11/29/us/us-laws-catch-up-to-the-new-russia.html | url-status=live }} The act was signed into law by Democratic President Bill Clinton on December 17, 1993.{{cite web | title=Bill Summary and Status | publisher=Library of Congress | url=http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d103:h.r.03000: | archive-url=https://archive.today/20120731204215/http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d103:h.r.03000: | url-status=dead | archive-date=July 31, 2012 | access-date=November 5, 2009 | date=December 17, 1993 }} It cited "the deaths of over 100,000,000 victims in an unprecedented imperial holocaust" and resolved that "the sacrifices of these victims should be permanently memorialized so that never again will nations and peoples allow so evil a tyranny to terrorize the world."

According to Title IX, Section 905 of Public Law 103–199, an independent organization was to be established to construct, maintain, and operate the Victims of Communism Memorial in Washington, D.C., as well as to collect the contributions for the establishment of the memorial and to encourage the participation of all groups suffered under Communist regimes.{{cite web |url=http://www.mega.nu/ampp/pl103-199.html |title=Public Law 103-199 |publisher=United States Congress|access-date=November 3, 2009 |archive-date=June 14, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110614061958/http://www.mega.nu/ampp/pl103-199.html |url-status=live|via=Mega.nu}} In 2007, the foundation completed the Victims of Communism Memorial, which was dedicated by Republican President George W. Bush.{{cite web|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-usa-communism-idUSPEK20924820070614|title=China Blasts Bush Tribute to Victims of Communism|publisher=Reuters|date=June 13, 2007|access-date=May 18, 2016|archive-date=March 6, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306065609/http://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-usa-communism-idUSPEK20924820070614|url-status=live}} In 2016, the foundation released a list of 51 prisoners of conscience in Cuba just before Democratic President Barack Obama visit and meeting with Cuban leader Raúl Castro.{{cite magazine|url=https://time.com/4266636/cuba-political-prisoners-castro/|title=Advocates List Cuba's Political Prisoners After Castro Says There Are None|magazine=Time|first=Maya|last=Rhodan|date=March 21, 2016|access-date=May 18, 2016|archive-date=May 17, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160517134548/http://time.com/4266636/cuba-political-prisoners-castro/|url-status=live}} In 2020, the organization released a report alleging organ harvesting from Falun Gong practitioners and Uyghurs in China.{{cite news|last=Lipes|first=Joshua|url=https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/organs-03122020163712.html|title=Uyghur, Falun Gong Detainees Likely Source for China's Organ Market: Report|date=March 12, 2020|agency=Radio Free Asia|access-date=March 16, 2020|archive-date=March 16, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200316004043/https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/organs-03122020163712.html|url-status=live}}

Programs

=Victims of Communism Memorial=

The memorial was dedicated on June 12, 2007, the 20th anniversary of Republican President Ronald Reagan's Tear down this wall! speech in Berlin. The unveiling of the statue in Washington DC earned international press attention.{{cite web|url=http://www.kommersant.com/p-10890/r_530/Communist_deaths/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121010005710/http://www.kommersant.com/p-10890/r_530/Communist_deaths/|title=Bush Blames 100 Million Deaths on Communists |publisher=Kommersant |date= June 13, 2007| access-date=May 18, 2016|archive-date=October 10, 2012}}

The land was a gift of the National Park Service, and the remaining cost, over $1 million, was raised from private sources.{{cite web|url=https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/a-tale-of-two-monuments-washington-vs-ottawa|title=A tale of Two Monuments: Washington vs. Ottawa|publisher=Ottawa Citizen|first=Don|last=Butler|date=March 6, 2015|access-date=May 18, 2016|archive-date=May 3, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160503004540/http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/a-tale-of-two-monuments-washington-vs-ottawa|url-status=live}} Sculpted by Thomas Marsh, it is a 10-foot bronze replica of the Papier-mâché Goddess of Democracy statue made by student democracy protesters leading up to the Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989.{{cite news | work=The National Review | last=Miller | first=John | date=December 12, 2005 | title=Memorial Day: Honoring the victims of Communism | url=http://www.nationalreview.com/miller/miller200512120846.asp | access-date=November 4, 2009 | archive-date=September 18, 2009 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090918104346/http://www.nationalreview.com/miller/miller200512120846.asp | url-status=live }}

=Museum=

The foundation opened a museum at 900 15th St NW two blocks from the White House in June 2022. It is across the street from McPherson Square Park and McPherson Metro Station The grand opening featured three permanent galleries and a temporary gallery focused on the victims of communism. In the Washington Post, columnist George F. Will wrote that “Visitors to the museum will experience a wholesome immersion in the nation’s anti-communist success. And they will be reminded that this work is unfinished".{{cite news | newspaper=The Washington Post | last=George| first=Will| title=D.C.'s new Victims of Communism Museum tells a vital, unfinished tale | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/08/24/victims-communism-museum-dc/ | date=August 24, 2022| access-date=August 13, 2023 }}

=Truman-Reagan Medal of Freedom=

The foundation annually presents its Truman-Reagan Medal of Freedom at an event which honors opponents of communism and has been used to raise funds for the construction of the memorial.{{cite news | work=The New York Sun | last=Clyne | first=Meghan | title=D.C. Monument To Be Built In Honor of Victims of Communism | date=December 13, 2005 | url=http://www.nysun.com/national/dc-monument-to-be-built-in-honor-of-victims/24366/ | access-date=November 4, 2009 | archive-date=June 14, 2011 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110614181154/http://www.nysun.com/national/dc-monument-to-be-built-in-honor-of-victims/24366/ | url-status=live }} Past recipients include Myroslav Marynovych, Chen Guangcheng, Tom Lantos, Pope John Paul II, Vaclav Havel, Yang Jianli, Thadeus Nguyễn Văn Lý, Yelena Bonner, William F. Buckley Jr., Richard Pipes, Guillermo Fariñas, Lane Kirkland, Armando Valladares, János Horváth, Lech Wałęsa, Anna Walentynowicz, National Endowment for Democracy, and Henry M. Jackson.{{cite web|url=http://www.nationalreview.com/article/383611/sweet-solidarity-part-ii-jay-nordlinger|title=Sweet Solidarity, Part II|publisher=National Review|first=Jay|last=Nordlinger|date=July 25, 2014|access-date=May 18, 2016|archive-date=June 10, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160610173416/http://www.nationalreview.com/article/383611/sweet-solidarity-part-ii-jay-nordlinger|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=http://victimsofcommunism.org/initiative/truman-reagan/|title=Truman-Reagan Medal of Freedom|publisher=Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation|access-date=May 18, 2016|archive-date=April 24, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160424185119/http://victimsofcommunism.org/initiative/truman-reagan|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=http://atimes.com/2015/11/chinese-dissident-receives-political-award-in-washington/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151107013954/http://atimes.com/2015/11/chinese-dissident-receives-political-award-in-washington/|url-status=unfit|archive-date=November 7, 2015|title=Chinese Dissident Receives Political Award in Washington|publisher=Asia Times|date=November 16, 2015|access-date=May 18, 2016}}

=Projects=

In 2015, the foundation released a biopic video series called Witness Project, featuring interviews with witnesses of communism.{{cite web|url=http://www.philanthropydaily.com/what-about-communism/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161028171155/http://www.philanthropydaily.com/what-about-communism/|url-status=live|archive-date=October 28, 2016|title=What About Communism|publisher=Philanthropy Daily|author=Abigail Clevenger|date=May 8, 2014|access-date=May 24, 2016}} In 2024 the United States House of Representatives passed the Crucial Communism Teaching Act, which directs the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation to create an education program for high schools about the dangers of communism.{{Cite web |last=Hurowitz |first=Noah |date=2024-12-05 |title=Just Say No: Congress Considers Neocon Lesson Plans to Keep Kids Off Communism |url=https://theintercept.com/2024/12/05/congress-anti-communism-school-curriculum/ |access-date=2024-12-14 |website=The Intercept |language=en-US}}

Personnel

File:Ed Feulner.jpg]]

VOC's chairman is Elizabeth Edwards Spalding. Its chairman emeritus and co-founder is scholar Edwin Feulner. Its previous chairman emeritus is Lee Edwards, a founding member of the conservative youth activism organization Young Americans for Freedom{{Cite web|url=https://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/lee-edwards-when-the-new-right-was-new/|title=Lee Edwards: When the 'New Right' Was New|last=Olmstead|first=Gracy|website=The American Conservative|date=February 14, 2018 |language=en-US|access-date=6 June 2020|archive-date=August 14, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200814104358/https://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/lee-edwards-when-the-new-right-was-new/|url-status=live}} and distinguished fellow at The Heritage Foundation.{{cite web |url=https://www.heritage.org/staff/lee-edwards |title=Lee Edwards, Ph.D. |work=The Heritage Foundation |access-date=6 June 2020 |archive-date=June 3, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200603213818/https://www.heritage.org/staff/lee-edwards |url-status=unfit }} Lev Dobriansky, economics professor and chairman of the anti-communist National Captive Nations Committee, previously served as chairman emeritus.{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/05/AR2008020503179.html?tid=informbox|newspaper=Washington Post|title=Lev E. Dobriansky, 89; Professor and Foe of Communism|date=February 6, 2008|first=Joe|last=Holley}} Its vice chairman is Randal Teague.{{Cite web |title=Randal Cornell Teague |url=https://victimsofcommunism.org/leader/randal-teague/ |access-date=2023-08-23 |website=Victims of Communism |language=en}}

Andrew Bremberg, former department manager for federally funded not-for-profit defence research contractor MITRE and former director of the Domestic Policy Council for U.S. President Donald Trump,{{cite news|last1=Michael Shear|title=Trump Discards Obama Legacy, One Rule at a Time|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/01/us/politics/trump-overturning-regulations.html|access-date=29 November 2021|work=The New York Times|date=2 May 2017|page=A1}} serves as president of VOC.{{cite web |title=Andrew Bamberg|url=https://victimsofcommunism.org/leader/ambassador-andrew-bremberg/|website=Victims of Communism|access-date=August 13, 2023}} Ken Pope is the current CEO.{{cite web |title=Ken Pope|url=https://victimsofcommunism.org/leader/ken-pope/|website=Victims of Communism|access-date=August 13, 2023}}

The advisory council includes Sali Berisha, Dennis DeConcini, Carl Gershman, Mart Laar, Vytautas Landsbergis, Katrina Lantos Swett, Daniel Lipinski, Guntis Ulmanis, Armando Valladares, and others.