First ever Victims of Communism Museum opens in D.C.

The dedication of the new Victims of Communism Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., last Wednesday emphasized two numbers – the 100 million people who have been killed by Marxist, communist regimes in the past century and the 1.5 billion who still suffer under authoritarian communist regimes today.

The museum is the world’s first to describing both the history of communism as well as its current global reach across Europe, Asia, and South America.

“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 the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation (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.”

35% of Millenials and 31% of Gen Z support the elimination of capitalism for a more socialist system, according to a 2020 poll by VOC and YouGov.  

“As we’ve seen, in the last 30 years we have a nation have really failed in educating our young people about the history and victims of communism,” Bremberg said on Fox News on Saturday.

VOC, who operates and manages the museum, is an educational, research, and human rights organization that was authorized in 1993 by a unanimous Act of Congress.

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.

The structure also houses artifacts of the struggle against communism, such as the handmade freedom flags of student protestors in Tiananmen Square.

“Myths and misperceptions about communism routinely go unchallenged in our culture – including in our classrooms,” said Dr. Elizabeth Edwards Spalding, VOC Vice Chairman and founding director of the museum.

“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.”