Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation

In 1991, Republican Senator Steve Symms and Representative Dana Rohrabacher introduced concurrent resolutions in the United States Congress urging the construction of "an International Memorial to the Victims of Communism at an appropriate location within the boundaries of the District of Columbia and for the appointment of a commission to oversee the design, construction and all other pertinent details of the memorial.

[9] In 2016, the foundation released a list of 51 prisoners of conscience in Cuba just before Democratic President Barack Obama visit and meeting with Cuban leader Raúl Castro.

In the Washington Post, columnist George F. Will wrote that “Visitors to the museum will experience a wholesome immersion in the nation’s anti-communist success.

[15] The foundation annually presents its Truman-Reagan Medal of Freedom at an event which honors opponents of communism and has been used to raise funds for the construction of the memorial.

[16] Past recipients include Myroslav Marynovych, Chen Guangcheng, Tom Lantos, Pope John Paul II, Vaclav Havel, Yang Jianli, Thadeus Nguyễn Văn Lý, Yelena Bonner, William F. Buckley Jr., Richard Pipes, Guillermo Fariñas, Lane Kirkland, Armando Valladares, János Horváth, Lech Wałęsa, Anna Walentynowicz, National Endowment for Democracy, and Henry M.

[2] Its previous chairman emeritus is Lee Edwards, a founding member of the conservative youth activism organization Young Americans for Freedom[22] and distinguished fellow at The Heritage Foundation.

[28] The advisory council includes Sali Berisha, Dennis DeConcini, Carl Gershman, Mart Laar, Vytautas Landsbergis, Katrina Lantos Swett, Daniel Lipinski, Guntis Ulmanis, Armando Valladares, and others.