I’ve been posting a lot about the Victims of Communism Memorial. I hope you’ll take some time to contribute whatever you can afford to put up a monument to the hundreds of millions of people who have suffered and died—and still are suffering and dying—under this murderous ideology
The Baltic Countries of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia suffered terrible cruelties under communist rule. On May 22, 1948, for example, the Soviet government’s “Operation Spring,” sought to punish Lithuanians for resisting collectivization. In 48 hours, 36,932 men women and children were arrested and sent to the Gulag. That year, some 21, 259 Lithuianians were killed in what the Soviet Union called “pacification operations.” Nicholas Werth, A State Against Its People: Violence Repression and Terror in The Soviet Union, in The Black Book of Communism 235-36 (S. Courtois, et al., eds., 1999).
Yesterday the Wall Street Journal ran an article by Mart Laar, former prime minister of Estonia, which you must read. (Thanks to Nils for the pointer.) Even though almost fifteen years have passed since the fall of the Berlin wall, writes Laar,
The crimes of communism are not condemned. During most of its existence, the Soviet Union denied even the existence of the secret protocols of Molotov-Ribbentrop, not to mention the crimes against humanity that are directly attributable to this pact, such as the massacre of thousands of Polish officers at Katyn early in the war. And even when the existence of secret protocols was recognized, first the Soviet Union and then Russia refused to undo the results of the pact. For instance, only after enormous international pressure was exerted on Russia did Moscow withdraw all its troops from the Baltic states on Aug. 31, 1994. This day is now marked as the end of World War II for these countries, with celebrations each year.
But, writes Laar, it is not just that Soviet crimes go unrecognized—they also go unaddressed.
Russia still maintains military bases [in Moldova] regardless of protests by Moldova, the OSCE and the European Union…. To this day, Russia maintains that Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania were never occupied by the Soviet Union. This month, Russia refused to apologize for standing by, just outside the city, as the Nazis crushed the Warsaw Uprising of 1944, because Moscow hoped the Nazis were, in effect, smoothing the way for a communist takeover of Poland in 1944. Worse yet: Russia refuses to say three simple words to the victims of communism: We are sorry!
Perhaps Russia never will. But you can do you part to remember the victims of these atrocities by joining me and sending a small check to the Victims of Communism Memorial. They need $23,000 to erect a monument by October. And when you send them a few dollars—or if you have something to say about the victims of communism—please add a comment to this post.
Comments policy