How Museums in Central and Eastern Europe Tell the Complicated Story of Life Behind the Iron Curtain
Apr 24
Newest DC Museum Dedicated to the Victims of Communism Opens June 13th in McPherson Square, the First of its Kind
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 31, 2022
Media Contact:
Sarah Hrovat
voc@pinkston.co
Washington, D.C. (May 31, 2022) – The Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation (VOC) is opening the doors of its new museum to the general public on Monday, June 13th. Located in downtown Washington, DC at McPherson Square (900 15th St NW), the Victims of Communism Museum memorializes the more than 100 million people murdered by communist regimes. Today, it is estimated that more than 1.5 billion people still live and labor under communist governments that are actively hostile to democracy as well as human and civil rights.
“The opening of this museum at such an important time is the culmination of over three decades of work and the donations of thousands of individuals in both money and time,” said Ambassador Andrew Bremberg, President and CEO of VOC. “The team of historians, architects, and artists who contributed have been world-class and our hope is that the museum will serve as a place where all victims of communism feel that their story is being heard.”
The Victims of Communism Museum is the first museum in the world dedicated to describing both the history of communism as well as its current global reach across Europe, Asia, and South America. The museum consists of exhibit, conference, and event space totaling 9,492 square feet. Its first floor hosts three main galleries that guide the visitor through communist history – how and where it began, how it operates, and how people living under it have resisted it both historically and today. Visitors can watch films and participate in state-of-the-art interactive exhibits that bring to life the stories of both victims and survivors.
“Beginning with the collapse of the Soviet Union in December of 1991, people began to quickly forget the legacy of communism and the sway it held over millions of people around the world,” said Dr. Lee Edwards, the Co-Founder and Chairman Emeritus of VOC. “Communist ruling parties still control a fifth of the world’s population, and we opened this museum to serve as both a memorial to those who died from it and a beacon of hope for those who resist it.”
The non-profit museum is operated and managed by the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation – an educational, research, and human rights organization that was authorized in 1993 by a unanimous Act of Congress signed as Public Law 103-199 by President William J. Clinton on December 17, 1993. On June 12, 2007, President George W. Bush dedicated the Victims of Communism Memorial in Washington, D.C.
“The Victims of Communism Museum is a place to remember the global crimes of communism, past and present,” said Dr. Edwin J. Feulner, Chairman of VOC. “Through our efforts, we will strive to bring about a world free from the false hope of communism and to reinforce and promote the values of individual liberty, a free economy, the rule of law, democratic self-government, and human rights.”
Dr. Elizabeth Edwards Spalding, VOC Vice Chairman and Founding Director of the Victims of Communism Museum, said, “Myths and misperceptions about communism routinely go unchallenged in our culture – including in our classrooms. The necessity for such a museum cannot be more urgent, and our sincerest hope is that Americans and visitors from around the world will come here to both remember and to learn about this destructive ideology.”
Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation is an educational, research, and human rights nonprofit devoted to commemorating the more than 100 million victims of communism around the world and to pursuing the freedom of those still living under totalitarian regimes.
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