Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation
A U.S. nonprofit organization dedicated to memorializing victims of communist regimes and promoting education about communist history and political repression.
Last updated August 26, 2026
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Overview
The Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation (VOC) is a United States nonprofit organization created through congressional authorization in 1993 to establish, maintain, and operate a national memorial honoring people who suffered or died under communist regimes. Its work combines commemorative activities, public education, historical research, museum programming, advocacy, and recognition of dissidents and opponents of communist governments. The foundation grew out of efforts launched in 1991 by Republican Senator Steve Symms and Representative Dana Rohrabacher, who urged Congress to support an international memorial in Washington, D.C. The initiative was incorporated into the FRIENDSHIP Act of 1993 through amendments sponsored by Rohrabacher and Senator Jesse Helms. President Bill Clinton signed the legislation on December 17, 1993. The law called for an independent organization to raise private contributions, coordinate construction, and involve communities affected by communist rule. VOC's principal commemorative achievement is the Victims of Communism Memorial in Washington, D.C. The memorial was dedicated on June 12, 2007, on the twentieth anniversary of Ronald Reagan's Berlin speech commonly associated with the phrase “Tear down this wall.” Its central sculpture, created by Thomas Marsh, is a ten-foot bronze interpretation of the Goddess of Democracy statue associated with the 1989 pro-democracy demonstrations in Beijing. The National Park Service provided the site, while more than one million dollars in remaining construction costs were raised from private sources. The organization expanded its public-facing work with the opening of a museum at 900 15th Street NW in Washington, D.C., in June 2022. The museum contains permanent galleries and temporary exhibitions focused on the history and human consequences of communist regimes. Through the museum, educational programs, reports, documentary material, and oral-history projects, VOC presents an explicitly anti-communist interpretation of twentieth- and twenty-first-century political history. Its programs include the Witness Project, a video series launched in 2015 that records testimonies from people who experienced communist governments; the annual Truman-Reagan Medal of Freedom, which recognizes prominent anti-communist activists, dissidents, and institutions; and research and advocacy concerning political prisoners, repression, religious persecution, forced labor, and alleged abuses in countries including Cuba and China. In 2016, the foundation published a list of Cuban prisoners of conscience in connection with then-President Barack Obama's visit to Cuba. In 2020, it issued a report alleging forced organ harvesting involving Falun Gong practitioners and Uyghurs in China. VOC is also involved in educational policy. In 2024, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Crucial Communism Teaching Act, which would direct the foundation to develop a high-school education program addressing the history and dangers of communism. The organization is a member of the European Union's Platform of European Memory and Conscience. Its public profile and historical framing are strongly aligned with conservative and anti-communist political traditions, and its estimates and definitions concerning deaths attributable to communist regimes have been subjects of wider historical and political debate.
History
The foundation's origins date to 1991, when Senator Steve Symms and Representative Dana Rohrabacher introduced concurrent congressional resolutions calling for an international memorial to victims of communism in Washington, D.C. The proposals envisioned a commission that would oversee the memorial's design, construction, and related arrangements. In 1993, Rohrabacher and Senator Jesse Helms attached amendments authorizing the project to the FRIENDSHIP Act. President Bill Clinton signed the legislation on December 17, 1993. The statute provided for an independent organization responsible for collecting private contributions, constructing and operating the memorial, maintaining it, and encouraging participation by groups affected by communist rule. The legislation used a very high estimate of deaths associated with communist regimes and framed the memorial as a warning against totalitarian political systems. Fundraising and planning continued for more than a decade. The National Park Service supplied the site in Washington, D.C., and private donors financed the remaining construction costs. The resulting memorial was dedicated on June 12, 2007, coinciding with the twentieth anniversary of Ronald Reagan's “Tear down this wall” speech in Berlin. Designed by sculptor Thomas Marsh, the ten-foot bronze statue depicts the Goddess of Democracy, based on the papier-mâché figure created by Chinese student demonstrators during the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests. The memorial gave VOC a permanent civic and symbolic presence in the capital. The foundation subsequently broadened its activities beyond the monument. Its Truman-Reagan Medal of Freedom became an annual recognition program for anti-communist dissidents, political prisoners, scholars, and institutions. Past recipients have included Václav Havel, Pope John Paul II, Lech Wałęsa, Tom Lantos, Chen Guangcheng, Myroslav Marynovych, Yelena Bonner, Guillermo Fariñas, Armando Valladares, the National Endowment for Democracy, and other figures associated with resistance to communist governments. In 2015, VOC launched the Witness Project, a series of filmed interviews with people who experienced communist rule. The project reflects the foundation's emphasis on first-person testimony and public memory. In 2016, it published a list of 51 Cuban prisoners of conscience in advance of President Obama's Cuba visit. In 2020, it released a report alleging forced organ harvesting involving Falun Gong practitioners and Uyghurs in China. These activities demonstrate the organization's transition from a memorial-building body into a broader advocacy and research institution. VOC opened its museum at 900 15th Street NW in Washington, D.C., in June 2022. Located near McPherson Square and the White House, the museum introduced permanent galleries and rotating exhibitions presenting the foundation's interpretation of communist history and its human costs. The museum also created a setting for educational events, historical displays, and public programming. The organization remains active in education and policy advocacy. In 2024, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Crucial Communism Teaching Act, which would assign VOC a role in developing a high-school program about the dangers of communism. VOC also participates in international memory networks, including the European Union's Platform of European Memory and Conscience. Its work remains explicitly anti-communist and is situated within a broader conservative American tradition of memorializing victims of communist regimes and opposing contemporary authoritarian governments identified with communist ideology.
- 2024
Crucial Communism Teaching Act passes the House
[1]The U.S. House passed legislation that would direct VOC to develop a high-school education program on communist history and its dangers.
- 2022
Washington museum opens
[1]The foundation opened its museum at 900 15th Street NW in Washington, D.C.
- 2020
Report on alleged organ harvesting published
[1]VOC issued a report alleging forced organ harvesting involving Falun Gong practitioners and Uyghurs in China.
- 2016
Cuban prisoners of conscience list released
[1]The foundation published a list identifying 51 Cuban prisoners of conscience before President Obama's Cuba visit.
- 2015
Witness Project launched
[1]VOC began releasing filmed interviews with witnesses and survivors of communist regimes.
- 2007
Victims of Communism Memorial dedicated
[1]The Washington, D.C., memorial was dedicated on June 12 with a bronze statue modeled on the Goddess of Democracy from the 1989 Tiananmen Square demonstrations.
- 1993
Foundation authorized by Congress
[1]Amendments to the FRIENDSHIP Act authorized an independent organization to establish and operate a memorial; President Bill Clinton signed the law on December 17.
- 1991
Congressional resolutions propose a memorial
[1]Senator Steve Symms and Representative Dana Rohrabacher introduced resolutions supporting an international memorial to victims of communism in Washington, D.C.
Products and positioning
A Washington-based anti-communist historical, educational, and commemorative institution that combines a national memorial, museum, research, advocacy, and survivor testimony.
Memorial · 2007
Victims of Communism Memorial
A public monument in Washington, D.C., dedicated in 2007 to people who died or suffered under communist regimes. The centerpiece is a ten-foot bronze interpretation by Thomas Marsh of the Goddess of Democracy statue associated with the 1989 Tiananmen Square demonstrations.
Museum and education · 2022
Victims of Communism Museum
A museum opened in Washington, D.C., in 2022. It presents permanent galleries and temporary exhibitions about communist governments, political repression, victims, dissidents, and the foundation's anti-communist historical perspective.
Documentary and oral history · 2015
Witness Project
A video-based oral-history project launched in 2015 that records testimony from people who experienced communist rule. It supports VOC's emphasis on survivor narratives and public remembrance.
Award program
Truman-Reagan Medal of Freedom
An annual award recognizing dissidents, human-rights advocates, scholars, and institutions associated with opposition to communist governments and political repression. The related event also supports the foundation's fundraising and public outreach.
Education · 2024
Educational programs and curriculum
Educational resources, museum programming, reports, and proposed school curricula designed to explain communist history, political repression, and the experiences of victims. In 2024, House-passed legislation proposed assigning VOC a role in high-school education.
Marketing campaigns
- 2020China Organ-Harvesting Report
China · United States
VOC released a report alleging forced organ harvesting involving Falun Gong practitioners and Uyghurs in China.
Outcome. The report extended the foundation's advocacy and research activity into contemporary allegations of human-rights abuse.
- 2016Cuban Prisoners of Conscience List
Cuba · United States
The foundation publicized a list of 51 Cuban prisoners of conscience shortly before President Barack Obama's visit to Cuba.
Outcome. The publication placed Cuban political imprisonment and dissent on the agenda surrounding the presidential visit.
- 2015Witness Project
United States
VOC launched a documentary interview series featuring witnesses to communist rule, using personal testimony to preserve historical memory and support public education.
Outcome. The project became part of the foundation's continuing educational and commemorative work.
Brand decisions
2022
Open a dedicated museumProduct launchBackground
VOC sought to broaden its work from an outdoor memorial into a year-round public education and exhibition institution.
Action taken
The foundation opened the Victims of Communism Museum at 900 15th Street NW in Washington, D.C.
Aftermath
The museum provided permanent galleries, temporary exhibitions, and a venue for educational programming near the White House.
2007
Dedicate the Victims of Communism MemorialOtherBackground
After years of planning and private fundraising, VOC completed the memorial authorized by Congress.
Action taken
The organization dedicated the Washington monument on June 12, 2007, using a bronze representation of the Goddess of Democracy as its central sculpture.
Aftermath
The memorial became the foundation's principal public symbol and a permanent site for commemoration in the U.S. capital.
1993
Create a national memorial and independent operating foundationStrategyBackground
Congressional authorization called for a permanent memorial in Washington, D.C., together with an independent body able to raise funds, construct the site, and operate it.
Action taken
The foundation was established to coordinate fundraising, construction, maintenance, programming, and participation by communities affected by communist regimes.
Aftermath
The decision created the institutional basis for the memorial completed in 2007 and for the foundation's later education and advocacy programs.
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