02 July 2009
Victims of Communism Receive Tribute
Washington — Twenty years after the Berlin Wall fell, an event seen by many as the beginning of the end of communism in Europe, people in the United States still honor those who stood against communist oppression.
In 1956, Hungarian citizens revolted against their communist government. The Soviet Union launched a massive invasion, killing many. Many victims were buried randomly in mass graves. In 1989, the same year the Berlin Wall fell, a ceremonial reburial was held in Hungary to honor those who lost their lives in the uprising. In June 2009, the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation in Washington honored the fallen once again with an international wreath-laying ceremony on the 20th anniversary of the reburial ceremony in Hungary.
The foundation was established by Congress in 1993 as a way to commemorate what the foundation says is more than 100 million victims of communism. In 2007, a memorial was established in Washington. A 4.2-meter bronze replica of the “Goddess of Democracy” statue built by Chinese students during the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests, the memorial was dedicated by President George W. Bush. (See “Bush Dedicates Memorial to Victims of Communism.”)
“In 1989, predictions were made that the Berlin Wall would last another 50 to 100 years,” said Lee Edwards, the foundation’s chairman, at the June wreath-laying ceremony, “but those predictions were wrong.”
Although anti-communism efforts have proved successful over the past 20 years, “dangerous” is how Edwards described the common belief that communism is dying. “Communism is not dead; it’s still there.” China, Cuba, Vietnam, North Korea and Laos have communist governments. “We want to educate young people, these generations along with future generations. Those who don’t study history are condemned to repeat it,” Edwards said. “We need to keep the public attention on the crimes and victims of communism.”
One way the foundation is doing this is through a new online museum on communism.
The museum’s National Exhibits section covers each nation that operated or currently operates under a communist regime. A detailed timeline spans 1848 to the present. The Gallery of Heroes honors key individuals, dead and alive, who made exceptional anti-communist efforts, while the Hall of Infamy provides biographies of past and present rulers including Josef Stalin, Fidel Castro and Mao Zedong.
One of the most interactive sections, the Victim’s Registry, is a place where families of the victims of communism can honor their loved ones.
For more information, visit the Global Museum on Communism or the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation Web sites.
