Victims of Communism foundation applauds federal call for classroom instruction on harms of communism, socialism
Caroline MolloyThe Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation (VOC) welcomed a Department of Education call for schools to strengthen instruction on the history and human toll of communism and socialism ahead of Victims of Communism Day on Nov. 7.
Education Secretary Linda McMahon issued the appeal Sept. 30 in a Dear Colleague Letter to education leaders and teachers nationwide, urging them to help students understand the human toll of communism and socialism and the principles of liberty underlying America’s constitutional system.
“This call to remember the victims is a much-needed rallying point for our nation,” VOC President and CEO Eric Patterson said in a Sept. 30 press release. “We cannot let the memory of the victims fade, nor can we allow rising generations of students to fall for the siren song of Marxism simply because they do not know the truth about this evil ideology.”
According to the department, instruction should address the historical consequences of collectivization, centralized economic planning, political coercion, and suppression of dissent. Its announcement cited the Ukrainian Holodomor, China’s Great Leap Forward, Cambodia’s Killing Fields, and the Soviet gulags, attributing more than 100 million deaths to communist regimes.
