Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation

Organization profile. The Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation (VOC) is a Washington, D.C.-based educational, research and human-rights nonprofit focused on documenting and teaching the history and legacy of communist regimes and advocating for people living under communist authoritarian governments. Its ideological descriptions of communism and socialism are its own institutional positions.

Organization snapshot

Name: Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation
Abbreviation: VOC
Type: U.S. 501(c)(3) educational, research and human-rights nonprofit
Congressional authorization: Public Law 103-199, signed December 17, 1993
Incorporated: Virginia, August 31, 1994
Location: Washington, D.C., United States
Website: victimsofcommunism.org
Current public leadership: Elizabeth Spalding is identified as chairman and Eric Patterson as president and CEO in recent annual reporting.

Mission and institutional history

VOC describes its mission as educating future generations about the ideology, history and legacy of communism and advocating for people living under communist regimes. Congress authorized creation of a memorial foundation in 1993. The Foundation was incorporated in 1994; its 2024 annual report identifies Lee Edwards and Lev Dobriansky as co-founders. A Victims of Communism Memorial statue was dedicated in Washington in June 2007.

Programs

Victims of Communism Museum and collections: museum, archives, artifacts and public exhibitions in Washington.
Witness Project: filmed oral histories with people who experienced communist systems.
Education: curricula, teacher professional development, college events, lectures and public programs.
Research: geographically focused study centers and reports, including China-focused programming.
Human rights: dissident convenings, public advocacy, briefings, rallies and a Captive Nations Coalition.
China programs: public events, briefings, vigils and advocacy concerning human-rights issues linked to the People’s Republic of China and the Chinese Communist Party.

Documented impact and relevance

VOC has developed a durable memory, education, research and advocacy institution around the history of communist regimes. Its visible institutional outputs include the Washington memorial, a museum, curriculum and teacher training, oral-history production, archives and recurring public programs. Its education materials state that hundreds of middle- and high-school educators have participated in training. For China-related civil society, VOC provides convening space, public programming and an international platform for dissidents and human-rights advocates. The organization was also one of the three co-organizers of the January 2024 symposium on civil resistance, high-tech totalitarianism and China’s future with China Action and the Institute for China’s Democratic Transition.

China and 1989 relevance

The organization’s Washington memorial is modeled on the Goddess of Democracy erected by student protesters in Tiananmen Square in 1989. VOC’s China programs and China Forum make it directly relevant to the Free China Research & Archives directory for documenting international institutions that preserve 1989 memory and support contemporary discussion of Chinese human rights and political change.

Sources

Last reviewed: September 18, 2026. Inclusion documents public relevance and does not imply endorsement, partnership or membership.