Victims of Communism foundation applauds federal call for classroom instruction on harms of communism, socialism

The 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.

“At a time when young Americans are expressing positive impressions of socialism in record numbers, it is more important than ever for students to learn and understand the devastating human consequences of communist and socialist regimes,” McMahon said in a press release. “We must ensure the next generation values freedom, individual liberty, and the constitutional principles that have made America the greatest nation in the world.”

McMahon’s letter recognized that Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, Tennessee, and Texas are among the states that have already taken steps to require instruction on communism’s history and dangers.

The department added in its release that it does not endorse or mandate particular curricula but is encouraging educators to provide students with the historical context necessary to compare communist and socialist systems with the principles and institutions established by America’s founders.

VOC said on its website that in 2022 it began partnering with state education departments, including those in Florida and Arizona, to build its curriculum into public school classrooms. 

The foundation highlighted its classroom materials, museum in Washington, D.C., and Witness Project documentary series featuring people who resisted communism, saying in its release that it “is honored to offer the definitive suite of academic resources for both students and teachers to better understand these evil ideologies.” It also said it offers an online teacher certification course that provides 24 hours of professional development credit.

The organization noted that its curricular resources are available online and at the VOC Amazon bookshop. 

McMahon said in the letter that as society approaches “this critical cultural crossroads, America’s educators play a vital role in confronting the rising popularity of Marxist ideology and exposing its destructive consequences.” 

She added, “Only by understanding the devastating human cost of communism and socialism and how these ideologies led to more than 100 million deaths in the 20th century alone can students fully understand the purpose and principles underlying the founding of our country.”