Visit to the Victims of Communism Museum

Each school year, I taught my middle school students about the dangers of communism with a special assignment. I called it the “North Korea Project.” First, I had my students research 10 facts about North Korea independently, and then they would come together as a class to share what they learned. They would say things like, “I can’t believe they’re only allowed certain types of haircuts,” “Kim Jong Un looks weird,” “Their internet is tightly controlled,” “All classrooms have pictures of their dictator,” and “There’s a lot of suffering and human rights abuses.” Even after just 30 minutes of research, my students were gaining a clear picture of what life is like under a communist dictatorship.

Dear Leader

After the research portion, I had them watch the incredible National Geographic documentary Inside North Korea. It’s a rare find that used to be accessible on YouTube but disappeared during the last two years of my public-school teaching career. In the documentary, investigative journalist Lisa Ling travels with Dr. Sanduk Ruit and his team, who perform 1,000 charitable cataract surgeries in just 10 days. The goal was to provide medical help to North Korea’s impoverished citizens with the secondary covert goal of doing an investigative look at the secretive and tightly controlled country.

I will never forget the shock on my student’s faces when the cataract surgery patients removed their bandages and cried in thanks and praise to a picture of their Dear Leader instead of the foreign medical team providing the charitable care. Each patient tried to out-praise the previous one, and, of course, all of them bowed to the giant picture of Kim Jong-il.

After a few more lessons, my students were assigned to write an expository essay about North Korea. I repeated this project for six years, and students often shared that it was one of their favorite lessons. The last time I taught this lesson before leaving public education, a student raised their hand and shared that one of their previous teachers had told the class that North Korea is a “great country” and that communism is a “good thing.” I was shocked but not surprised, given that I came from a district with teachers that had Che Guevara posters in their classrooms.

Victims of Communism Museum

My two-week unit on North Korea was the best I could do to teach the dangers of communism to my students in a very left-leaning district with several self-professed Marxist teachers. But I wish I could have taken my students to the Victims of Communism Museum in Washington, DC, to drive home the point that communism is a system to be shunned, not revered.

I had the privilege of touring the Victims of Communism Museum with my colleagues this October. The museum is dedicated to remembering the more than 100 million people who have suffered or perished under communist regimes. While small compared to the formidable and famous Natural History Museum, its exhibits are just as important—if not more so—crucial for every American to see, especially our young people.

When I stepped into the museum, the eerie red color scheme immediately conveyed that this experience would be far from the uplifting and inspiring ambiance of the beautiful art museums in DC. Instead, I left with a feeling of solemn gratitude for the freedom to live without the oppression of a communist regime and a renewed sense of urgency to protect that freedom.

The museum was officially opened on June 13, 2022, and is part of the broader efforts of the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation, established in 1994. Its opening marked a significant moment in ensuring that the tragedies caused by communist regimes are recognized and remembered. The museum goes a long way in accomplishing that goal.

One of the most impactful exhibits was an interactive scenario activity where visitors chose to step into the lives of three residents of communist countries. In each scenario, we were asked to make impossible decisions, like risking an escape through an electric fence or deciding whether to turn in a friend who had spoken against the regime in hopes of sparing our own family from being thrown into work camps. At the end of the scenarios, we learned the real-life stories of the brave individuals who faced these heartbreaking choices.

On the second floor, a temporary exhibit featured the recent socialist collapse of Venezuela. Since 2014, approximately 7.7 million Venezuelans have fled the country, making it one of the largest displacement crises globally. The exhibit told stories of anti-socialist Venezuelan activists being imprisoned or even killed in the streets during protests. Photos showed the incredible inflation of the nation’s currency, the bolivar—so worthless that it now litters the streets or is woven into purses to be sold. These displays served as powerful visual reminders of the swift and tragic collapse that can befall a once-prosperous capitalist nation when it embraces socialism.

Our visit concluded with a presentation from Director of Fellowships and Coalitions Milda Mataciunaite-Boyce, who shared her powerful testimony of growing up in Lithuania under communist Soviet occupation. She recounted how her family was allocated a tiny one-bedroom apartment while Soviet occupiers lived in large homes. They were permitted only one type of car, notorious for breaking down and emitting a strong gasoline smell. She shared that even today, the smell of gasoline brings back feelings of nausea from memories of living in fear and poverty during the occupation. Yet her message was also one of hope—Lithuania regained its independence in 1991 and has since become economically strong, reestablishing its national identity and pride.

My Students

As I sat in the museum listening to her presentation, I couldn’t help but think of my students and how impactful this entire tour would have been for them. I wonder where they are now. Maybe they’re hearing a polished, idealized version of communism from a well-paid Marxist college professor. I wonder if any of them are brave enough to object. I hope I’ve taught them well. But was it enough? I dare to say that if they could visit this museum, with or without my lessons, it would have been.

Source: https://capitalresearch.org/article/visit-to-the-victims-of-communism-museum/