WASHINGTON, DC - A memorial in Washington, DC to honor the victims of communism was given final clearance by a federal oversight body on Thursday, November 3. The National Capital Planning Commission moved unanimously to approve the design for the Memorial, to be built at a location on the corner of Massachusetts and New Jersey Avenues, N.W., just off Capitol Hill.
With the decision, construction of the memorial is now expected to begin by April 2006. According to Dr. Lee Edwards, chairman of the Memorial Foundation responsible for fundraising and future maintenance of the site, the memorial would be unveiled about a year from now. The memorial will feature a Democracy statue atop a stone pedestal, within a 900 square foot paved plaza. A historical marker at the site will provide background information.
It is estimated that 100 million persons perished at the hands of various communist regimes in the 20th century.
The Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation has also announced that it will hold its seventh annual Truman-Reagan Medal of Freedom Awards ceremony in Washington, DC on December 13th. The event will be held at the Polish Embassy, as this year’s focus is on Polish contributions to the fight to end communism. 2005 Truman-Reagan medal honorees are the Solidarity Free Trade Union of 1980, Gdansk, and noted Polish-American, retired Army General and former Ambassador Edward Rowny. Pope John Paul II will be awarded posthumously. Archbishop Gabriel Montalvo, Apostolic Nuncio in the U.S, will accept for the late Pope.
In preparation for these events, Foundation chairman Edwards was joined by JBANC Managing Director Karl Altau for a series of informational meetings in Chicago with leaders of both the Polish-American and Lithuanian-American communities. Dr. Edwards also gave presentations on plans for the Memorial at October 22 events organized in Chicago by the Lithuanian American Council in commemoration of that organization’s 90th anniversary.
For more information on the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation, or if you wish to contribute to the building of the memorial, please visit: http://victimsofcommunism.org.