Years of an IWP professor’s hard work reached a successful conclusion June 12 when President George W. Bush dedicated the Victims of Communism Memorial at a small Capitol Hill park.
Shortly after the razing of the Berlin Wall, Dr. Lee Edwards started a campaign to construct a permanent memorial to the world’s 100 million victims of communism. Edwards is a Heritage Foundation historian and an adjunct professor at The Institute of World Politics. He also heads the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation.
Appearing with House Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Tom Lantos (D-CA, at right of photo) and Dr. Edwards (center), President Bush likened communism’s “murderous ideology” with today’s Islamist extremism. The Chinese government immediately denounced the monument.
Text of Professor Edwards’ commentary marking event.
Text of President Bush’s speech at memorial dedication.
White House video of June 12 event.