The Victims of Communism Memorial in D.C. Photo by jessica.

The Victims of Communism Memorial in D.C. Photo by jessica.


Add this to the list of museums to be built in D.C. in the near future: The International Museum on Communism.

The Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation—a D.C.-based non-profit educational and human rights organization commemorating the victims of communism—announced their plans to build a museum to “commemorate the more than 100 million victims of communist regimes around the world.”

According to a release, the VOC Foundation plans to break ground on the International Museum on Communism in October 2017, which marks the 100-year anniversary of the Bolshevik Revolution. Although they’re aiming to break ground in three years, a site for it has yet to be found. The VOC Foundation is currently “conducting a feasibility study in order to develop a budget for the project, working to identify sites in downtown Washington and along the National Mall, and developing architectural renderings of the building.” So far, the multi-million dollar project received a $1 million seed grant from the Hungarian Government, but they’re also accepting donations via a “Build the Museum” donation site.

In 2007, the VOC Foundation—which was established in 1993 through an Act of Congress—created the Victims of Communism Memorial near Union Station. Marion Smith, Executive Director of the VOC Foundation says this museum is a more “ambitious” project. “We want to tell the story of Communism,” he said in a release, “and its toll on humanity as the single most lethal ideology the world has ever known.”