Lably
Skip to content

Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation

American non-profit organization founded in 1994

  • 4 min read
  • 3 chapters

Related on Lably

Through Nonprofit organization, European Union and Communist state

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

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."

In 1993, Rohrabacher and fellow Republican Senator Jesse Helms sponsored amendments to the FRIENDSHIP Act of 1993 which authorized such construction. The act was signed into law by Democratic President Bill Clinton on 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. In 2007, the foundation completed the Victims of Communism Memorial, which was dedicated by Republican President George W. Bush. In 2016, the foundation released a list of 51 prisoners of conscience in Cuba just before Democratic President Barack Obama's visit and meeting with Cuban leader Raúl Castro. In 2020, the organization released a report alleging organ harvesting from Falun Gong practitioners and Uyghurs in China. The foundation also considers all deaths from COVID-19 to be victims of communism and adds the figures to its historical victims of communism tally.

In August 2026, the foundation was declared an undesirable organization in Russia.

Sign in to keep reading

2 more chapters are free with a Lably account.

More in Modern

Nazi GermanyGerman state from 1933 to 1945COVID-19 pandemicPandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2Russian EmpireRussian state from 1721 to 1917American Civil War1861–1865 conflict in the United StatesBritish Raj1858–1947 Crown rule in IndiaUnited States NavyMaritime service branch of the U.S. military