Welcome to Hidden Memorials: a series that gives a brief introduction to the city's lesser known monuments, memorials and statues. Today, let's look at the Victims of Communism Memorial.
On one end of the Hidden Memorial spectrum, there's the Cuban Friendship Urn, a gift from a now-Communist nation that mysteriously (and temporarily) disappeared at the height of U.S.-Soviet tensions. On the other end, there's the Victims of Communism Memorial, a far more controversial statue dedicated in 2007, during a time when Capitalist-Communist tensions were no longer at their most politically and emotionally charged. Thomas Marsh's bronze statue, meant to resemble the Goddess of Democracy that Chinese students put up during the 1989 protest at Tiananmen Square was actually dedicated on the anniversary of former President Ronald Reagan's "Tear Down This Wall" speech. Needless to say, the reaction from current and former Communist nations was not happy. China and Russia offered stern rebukes, several scholars deemed the statue "inappropriate" and Ukrainians even opened a Museum of American Imperialism in response.
· Victims of Communism Memorial [Wikipedia]
· All Hidden Memorials [CDC]