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One presidential proclamation has greatly angered communists, as it sheds light on the truth about communism. The proclamation acknowledges that Moscow acted as the center of an empire responsible for the deaths of over 100 million victims since the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917.
Since Dwight D. Eisenhower’s presidency, every U.S. president, including Joe Biden, has proclaimed the third week of July as National Captive Nations Week. In Eisenhower’s first proclamation, he strongly condemned the “imperialistic and aggressive policies of Soviet communism” and called on the American people to reaffirm their support for the freedom and national independence of captive nations.
Eisenhower did not shy away from stating that communism had established a “vast empire” that posed a “dire threat” to the security of America and all free peoples across the globe. This reference to an “empire” foreshadowed Ronald Reagan’s famous mention of the Soviets as the “evil empire” during his 1983 address.
President Ronald Reagan acknowledges the applause after delivering what is known as the “Tear Down This Wall” speech in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, June 12, 1987. (AP Photo/Ira Schwartz, File)
The bipartisan nature of the proclamation is evident through President John F. Kennedy’s declaration that “this country must never recognize the situation behind the Iron Curtain as a permanent one but must… keep alive the hopes of freedom of the peoples of the captive nations.”
DISMANTLING THE MYTHS OF THE SOCIALIST PARADISE
One president who fully understood the significance of Captive Nations Week was Ronald Reagan. In 1988, Reagan stated, “On behalf of Vice President Bush and myself, we pledge to all the peoples of the captive nations around the world: America will never forget your plight, and we will never cease to speak the truth about communism.”
A little over a year later, the Berlin Wall fell, and the 100 million captive peoples trapped behind the Iron Curtain finally gained their freedom after over four decades of communist oppression.
In addition to signing the Captive Nations Week proclamation, Donald Trump was the first president to meet with victims of communism and dissidents in the Oval Office. He also declared November 7 as “Victims of Communism Memorial Day.” Trump emphasized the commitment to secure a future of peace and prosperity founded on the principles of democracy, liberty, justice, and respect for every human life.
The driving force behind Captive Nations Week was Professor Lev Dobriansky of Georgetown University. In 1959, he successfully convinced Congress and the Eisenhower administration to adopt the Captive Nations Proclamation. Dobriansky had an extraordinary ability to predict the future.
In the 1950s, Dobriansky foresaw the inevitable collapse of Soviet Russia due to its inherent economic weakness and the strong desire for freedom among the captive nations. While others doubted whether America and the Free World would triumph in the Cold War, Dobriansky insisted that “the Russians are not 10 feet tall.” President Reagan echoed similar sentiments in his campaign to end the Cold War by actually winning it, proclaiming that Marxism-Leninism was destined to fail and be relegated to the past.
When we initially conceptualized the Victims of Communism Memorial, the first person we consulted was Professor Dobriansky, who served as the first chairman of the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation. He is unique in being the only American involved in the construction of two Washington monuments: the statue of the 19th-century Ukrainian poet and national hero, Taras Shevchenko, and the Victims of Communism Memorial, featuring a bronze replica of the Goddess of Democracy, an emblem erected by freedom-seeking Chinese students in June 1989 in Tiananmen Square.
Lev Dobriansky lived a fulfilling life centered around a powerful idea: “Let us constantly strive to bring about the freedom and independence of all captive nations and peoples.”
For over 60 years, and as proclaimed by 13 presidents, Captive Nations Week has allowed Americans and freedom-loving individuals worldwide to reaffirm their commitment to preserving the hopes of freedom for all captive peoples and nations. It empowers us to believe in the transformative power of words to reshape history, as seen in phrases like “liberty,” “freedom,” and “Tear down this wall!”
While some may view dependence on diplomacy and communication as naive, we must remember that tyrants have always appeared invincible until their sudden downfall, such as the fall of the Berlin Wall and the eventual collapse of the Soviet “evil empire” without a single shot being fired.
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