At least 13 U.S. states have recognized or plan to recognize Nov. 7 as Victims of Communism Memorial Day.
Accordingly, an article in the Catholic World Report urged governments worldwide to take note of the human damage caused by communism in different countries.
Memorial Day for Communism Victims
The report noted that the states of Texas, Alabama, Virginia, Florida, and Utah declared Nov. 7 as Victims of Communism Memorial Day. Meanwhile, eight other states have signified their intention to follow suit: South Carolina, Missouri, Arizona, Pennsylvania, Arkansas, Illinois, New Jersey, and Idaho.
The news website bared that the choice of Nov. 7 to commemorate the victims of communist regimes resulted from a consensus. The day happens to be when the first communist regime in Russia came into existence.
According to the article, it was on Nov. 7, 1917, when the Red Guards stormed Russia's Winter Palace and forced out the Provisional Government. The forcible takeover put Vladimir Lenin and his Bolshevik party in charge of the country.
From there, communism found its way to Angola, China, Poland, and Cambodia. What followed were decades of human rights abuses committed by communist governments against their powerless citizens.
Data from The Black Book of Communism: Crimes, Terror, Repression by Harvard University Press revealed some disturbing numbers showing the human cost of communism.
In terms of human deaths committed by communist regimes, China has the highest at 65 million. The former Union of the Soviet Socialist Republic (USSR) comes in second with 20 million deaths.
In North Korea and Cambodia, there were 4 million deaths; in Africa, 1.7 million. Meanwhile, Afghanistan had 1.5 million recorded deaths; Eastern Europe and Vietnam had 2 million deaths.
In Latin America, the human casualties were 150,000 individuals. At the same time, some 10,000 deaths were attributed to different communist movements in countries throughout the world.
The report noted that the figures in the book were from secular sources, and the total deaths due to communist regimes are hard to verify. However, the article said that many believe there were 100 million deaths globally due to communist atrocities.
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Need to Educate People About Communism
According to the report, there is a visible absence of discussion about the evils of communism in school curricula. This void in the education system brought forth a generation of youth and adults who were clueless about the dangers of communist rule.
This prompted the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation to develop a program designed for educational institutions. The program aims to educate teachers, as well as middle school and high school students about the history and ideology relevant to the communist movement.
By guiding educators and students to study everything about communism, the foundation hopes to bring to light the truth about communist ideology and atrocities.
The article also urged American citizens to think of the martyred individuals during communist rule and to ask them for guidance in educating children about the truth behind communism's errors.
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