Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation

From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
Jump to: navigation, search
Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation
Founded 1994
Founder Lee Edwards[1]
Lev Dobriansky[1]
Zbigniew Brzezinski[1]
Type Educational and Human Rights
Location
Key people
George W. Bush, Honorary Chairman[2]
Lee Edwards, Chairman[2]
Jay Katzen, President[3]
Ed Priola, Director of Public Affairs
Website http://www.victimsofcommunism.org

The Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation is a non-profit educational organization in the United States, established as a result of an Act of Congress in 1993 with the purpose to commemorate "the deaths of over 100,000,000 victims in an unprecedented imperial communist holocaust".[3] Its name is derived from the Victims of Communism Memorial in Washington, D.C. It is a member of the Platform of European Memory and Conscience.

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 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.[8]

Activities

The Foundation, chaired by Lee Edwards,[9] 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.[10] 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.[10] 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.[11] 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.[12]

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.[13][14]

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.[15][16]

People

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 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 Robert Conquest and Jack Kemp.[17]

The international advisory council includes Sali Berisha, Vladimir Bukovsky, Emil Constantinescu, Mart Laar, Vytautas Landsbergis, Guntis Ulmanis, Armando Valladares, Lech Wałęsa, and Harry Wu. Former members include David Manker Abshire, Yelena Bonner, Brian Crozier, Árpád Göncz, and Václav Havel.[18]

See also

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. 3.0 3.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. Public Law 103-199
  9. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. 10.0 10.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. [Staff writer] "Bush Blames 100 Million Deaths on Communists" Kommersant: Russia's Daily Online June 13, 2007 online.
  14. 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 June 14, 2007 p. 3 / online.
  15. Global Museum on Communism: Overview
  16. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.