Victims of Communism Memorial

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The Victims of Communism Memorial is a memorial planned for Washington, D.C. at the intersection of Massachusetts and New Jersey Avenues and G Street, N.W.

In November 2005, the National Capital Planning Commission gave approval to the monument's design, featuring a 10-foot (3 m) bronze replica of the Goddess of Democracy erected by students during the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989. It is labelled as a memorial "to commemorate the more than 100 million victims of communism." [1]

[edit] Background

A bill, H.R. 3000, sponsored by Representative Dana Rohrabacher and Senators Claiborne Pell and Jesse Helms, to authorize the memorial passed unanimously on December 17, 1993 and was signed into law by President Bill Clinton, becoming Public Law 103-199 Section 905. Due to delays in establishing the memorial, the authorization was subsequently extended through Section 326 of Public Law 105-277, approved October 21, 1998, until December 17, 2007.

The intended purpose of the memorial is "that the history of communist tyranny will be taught to future generations." The Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation has the duty of funding and directing the first stages of planning the memorial. After raising over $825,000 for construction and maintenance costs, the Foundation has planned a groundbreaking in September 2006.[2]