Advancing a Critical Mission Across the Globe

Florida International University: The Long Night of the Watchman

On the evening of February 13, the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation (VOC) sponsored a talk at Florida International University in Washington, D.C., on The Long Night of the Watchman, a recently published collection of essays by the Czech anti-communist dissident Václav Benda. An early signatory of the Charter 77 dissident group in former Czechoslovakia, Benda spoke out against communism and writes powerfully about life under totalitarian rule behind the Iron Curtain for which he served a four-year prison sentence.

Our speakers panel included the book’s editor, Professor Flagg Taylor of Skidmore College who is on our Academic Council; the Honorable Martin Palouš, Czech statesman and Charter 77 signatory; and Benda’s widow, Kamila Bendová.

Universities of Ottawa and Texas: Campus Talks on Communism

On February 16, VOC Director of Academic Programs Dr. Murray Bessette spoke to students of Dr. Robert Koons at the University of Texas at Austin on how the false hopes of socialism continue to appeal to young Americans, leading to a lively discussion during which he met with a survivor of communism in Romania.

On March 1, Dr. Bessette also addressed a student event at Canada’s University of Ottawa, co-sponsored by the Institute for Liberal Studies, which centered on the failure of socialism in Venezuela. Among the attendees were several young Venezuelan refugees who are deeply concerned with the political and economic disintegration back home.

Center for Strategic and International Studies: Expert Panel

How can nice people praise an ideology that has murdered millions? To address this, on February 23, VOC Executive Director Marion Smith joined a panel discussion hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C., called “The Dangers of Forgetting: Communism and Anti-Development”.

The talk centered on man’s blood-soaked experiment with communism in the 20th century and how correcting misperceptions about this killer idea can forestall its appeal. The panel included Laura Nicolae, a Harvard undergraduate whose recent op-ed went viral for its bold stance against professors who casually dismiss communism’s legacy.

Oslo Freedom Forum: Witness Project in Norway

On May 27, at the Oslo Freedom Forum in Norway, VOC screened our Witness Project oral history video series. The event showcased our five most recent episodes telling powerful stories of those who suffered under or resisted communism. We then held a roundtable discussion with two witnesses featured in our films — Rosa María Payá and Anastasia Lin — alongside the director Adam “Hawk” Jensen and our Venezuelan research fellow Enrique Altimari.

Discussions centered on what it means to be a witness of communism, to testify against communism, and ultimately to help bring communism to justice.