History of Communism

Documenting Communism's Crimes Against Humanity

In October 1917, the Bolshevik Revolution -- the murderous Russian coup-d'etat -- birthed the deadliest mass killing force ever visited upon the human race: Communism. In less than 100 years, Communism has claimed more than 100 million lives. Today, it continues to enslave one-fifth of the world's people.

And yet the United States, Communism's greatest challenger and a symbol of freedom to the world, has no memorial to commemorate these victims. We have no enduring reminder of the murderous legacy of totalitarianism. We have no place to teach current and future generations why America fought to end what President Kennedy called the "long twilight struggle" against Communist oppression.

Never Forget

This must change. A free people cannot afford to forget the evils of Communism. We cannot allow the atrocities of Lenin, Stalin, Mao, and Castro to fade into the background of history. We must not forget the trail of blood and tears this utopian deception always leaves behind:

When the Bolsheviks murdered their way into power...
When Lenin destroyed hundreds of thousands of Cossacks...
When the Kremlin starved more than six million in Ukraine...
When Mao murdered tens of millions of Chinese peasants during his "land reforms"...
When Ho Chi Minh sent 850,000 Vietnamese to their graves in "education camps"...
When Castro buried dissenters in the infamous Isle of Pines...
When the student voices of freedom were silenced at Tiananmen Square...

A Moral Blind Spot

It is a great moral failing for a free society to misunderstand the extent of Communism's atrocities. While the horrors of Nazism are well known, who knows that the Soviet Union murdered 20 million people? Who knows that China's dictators have slaughtered an estimated 60 million? Who knows that the Communist holocaust has exacted a death toll surpassing that of all of the wars of the 20th century combined?

Just as we must grasp Communism's brutality, we must understand the true cause of this era's most significant event: the fall of the Soviet Union. As Vaclav Havel said, "The fall of the Communist empire is an event on the same scale of historical importance as the fall of the Roman Empire." The West's triumph over the "evil empire" was no accident of history. It was the result of a calculated strategy by a grand alliance of political, military, religious, business and labor leaders. These leaders deserve credit for the victory over Communism many thought impossible.

The Battle Continues

Sadly, the specter of Communism still haunts the world. In Russia, one-third of the people believe that Stalin "did more good than bad for the country," according to a recent poll. In China, thousands of dissidents are imprisoned in the slave labor camps known as the laogai. In North Korea, masses starve as the leadership threatens to unleash nuclear war. In Cuba, dissidents are routinely imprisoned for peacefully petitioning for democratic reform.

Because of this, the Cold War victory remains incomplete. A free society must not allow itself to be content until everyone recognizes Communism is a road to terror and oppression.

Established by Authorization of Congressional Resolution H.R. 3000 & Presidential Approval, Public Law 103-199, The Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization.

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