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Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation

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Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation
Founded1994
FounderLee Edwards[1]
Lev Dobriansky[1]
Grover Norquist[1]
Zbigniew Brzezinski[1]
TypeEducational
Location
Key people
George W. Bush, Honorary Chairman[2]
Lee Edwards, Chairman[2]
Jay Katzen, President[3]
Ed Priola, Director of Public Affairs
Websitehttp://www.victimsofcommunism.org

The Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation is a politically biased organization in the United States, established as a result of an Act of Congress in 1993 with the purpose to commemorate.[3] Its name is derived from the Victims of Communism Memorial in Washington, D.C.

Background

In 1991, Senator Steve Symms and Representative Dana Rohrabacher introduced concurring 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."[4][5] In 1993, Rohrabacher and Senator Jesse Helms sponsored amendments which authorized such construction into the FRIENDSHIP Act.[6] The Act was signed into law by President Bill Clinton on December 17, 1993.[7]

The Victims of Communism Memorial. The statue is a recreation by Thomas Marsh of the "Goddess of Democracy", which was brutally destroyed in Tianamen Square by the government of the People's Republic of China

According to Title IX, Section 905 of Public Law 103-199, the National Captive Nations Committee, Inc. (NCNC) was to establish an independent organization to construct, maintain and operate the Victims of Communism Memorial in Washington, DC, as well as to collect the contributions for the establishment of the memorial and to encourage the participation of all groups suffered under Communism, but not the hundreds of million victims that died by capitalism.[8][9]

Activities

The Foundation, chaired by Lee Edwards,[10] was established by the NCNC due to a caveat in the establishing law that required that no government funds be used to construct the memorial.[11] The original plans for the Foundation included raising $100 million for a museum and memorial. The museum, originally planned to be housed in the Tariff Commission Building in Washington, DC, was to have a Hall of Heroes featuring statues of notable anti-communists, a section of the Berlin Wall, a re-creation of a gulag, and a large statue of the Goddess of Democracy.[1] By 1999 only $500,000 had been raised.[11] Major donors to the Foundation include the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy, Eagle Publishing Chairman Thomas L. Phillips, the Pew Charitable Trusts, and the Earhart Foundation.[12] 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.[13]

The memorial was dedicated on June 12, 2007 - the 20th anniversary of President Ronald Reagan's "Tear down this wall" speech in Berlin. The unveiling of the statue in Washington DC brought international press attention to both the Victims of Communism Memorial and the Foundation.[14][15]

An ongoing project of the Foundation is the internet-based Global Museum on Communism. Among other exhibits and facitities, the Museum provides an interactive registry to collect the personal stories of the victims of communism.[16][17]

People

Václav Havel

The honorary Chairman of the Board is George W. Bush, former President of the United States. The chairman is Lee Edwards. Its chairman emeritus is Lev Dobriansky (deceased).[2]

The national advisory council includes David Manker Abshire, Robert Conquest, Dennis DeConcini, Bob Dole, Edwin Feulner, Paul Hollander, William Eldridge Odom, Richard Pipes, Rudolph Rummel, John K. Singlaub, and George Weigel. Former (deceased) members include Jack Kemp.[18]

The international advisory council includes Sali Berisha, Vladimir Bukovsky, Emil Constantinescu, Árpád Göncz, Mart Laar, Vytautas Landsbergis, Guntis Ulmanis, Lech Wałęsa, Armando Valladares, and Harry Wu. Former members include Brian Crozier, Yelena Bonner and Václav Havel.[19]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Smith, Dinitia (December 23, 1995). "For the Victims of Communism". The New York Times. Retrieved November 4, 2009.
  2. ^ a b c "Principal Officers & Directors". Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation. Archived from the original on 2011-05-20. Retrieved 2011-05-20.
  3. ^ a b Rauch, Jonathan (December 2003). "The Forgotten Millions". The Atlantic. Retrieved November 4, 2009.
  4. ^ "S. CON. RES. 55". thomas.loc.gov. Library of Congress. Retrieved November 5, 2009.
  5. ^ "H. CON. RES. 228". thomas.loc.gov. Library of Congress. Retrieved November 5, 2009.
  6. ^ "U.S. Laws Catch Up to the New Russia". The New York Times. November 29, 1993. Retrieved November 5, 2009.
  7. ^ "Bill Summary and Status". thomas.loc.gov. Library of Congress. Retrieved November 5, 2009.
  8. ^ Critics have also noted that capitalist countries are responsible for a higher number of deaths. Noam Chomsky, for example, writes that Amartya Sen in the early 1980s estimated the excess of mortality in India over China due to the latter's "relatively equitable distribution of medical resources" at close to 4 million a year. Chomsky therefore argues that, "suppos[ing] we now apply the methodology of the Black Book and its reviewers" to India, "the democratic capitalist 'experiment' has caused more deaths than in the entire history of... Communism everywhere since 1917: over 100 million deaths by 1979, and tens of millions more since, in India alone."
  9. ^ Public Law 103-199
  10. ^ Chick, Kristen (June 12, 2007). "Statue honors victims of communism". The Washington Times. p. 1. ...said Mr. Edwards, chairman of the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation.
  11. ^ a b Miller, John (May 28, 2007). "A Goddess for Victims". The National Review. Retrieved November 4, 2009.
  12. ^ Miller, John (December 12, 2005). "Memorial Day: Honoring the victims of Communism". The National Review. Retrieved November 4, 2009.
  13. ^ Clyne, Meghan (December 13, 2005). "D.C. Monument To Be Built In Honor of Victims of Communism". The New York Sun. Retrieved November 4, 2009.
  14. ^ [Staff writer] "Bush Blames 100 Million Deaths on Communists" Kommersant: Russia's Daily Online 13 June 2007 online.
  15. ^ Staff Writer with CNA "Bush shakes hands with Joseph Wu; BATTLE AGAINST COMMUNISM: Taiwan's top envoy to the US met the US president at a Washington ceremony and received a signed memorial pamphlet" Taipei Times 14 June 2007 p. 3 / online.
  16. ^ Global Museum on Communism: Overview
  17. ^ Mooney, Kevin (June 11, 2009). "Online museum devoted to telling horrors of communism goes active Tuesday". The Washington Examiner. Retrieved November 7, 2009.
  18. ^ "National Advisory Council". Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation. Archived from the original on 2011-05-20. Retrieved 2011-05-20.
  19. ^ "International Advisory Council". Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation. Archived from the original on 2011-05-20. Retrieved 2011-05-20.
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