Victims of Communism Memorial
A ten-foot bronze figure modeled on the statue students built in Tiananmen Square in 1989 stands two blocks from Union Station, the U.S. Capitol framed behind it.
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Opened by President George W. Bush on June 12, 2007 — deliberately on the 20th anniversary of Reagan's "tear down this wall" speech — this outdoor memorial links two defining Cold War moments through a single sculpture. Sculptor Thomas Marsh worked from photographs of the original student-made Goddess of Democracy to cast this replica.
What to look for
- The ten-foot bronze Goddess of Democracy, cast by Thomas Marsh from photographs of the 1989 original
- Front inscription: "To the more than one hundred million victims of communism and to those who love liberty"
- Rear inscription: "To the freedom and independence of all captive nations and peoples"
Located at Massachusetts and New Jersey Avenues and G Street NW; two blocks from Washington Union Station on foot.
Victims of Communism Memorial is one of 37 sights worth the detour in Washington, all bundled offline in Voyage GO — download the Washington pack and it sits on your map with no signal, filling your travel passport the moment you walk past.
More to see in Washington
- White HouseBritish forces torched it in 1814. It has been the U.S. president's home and office ever since.
- The PentagonDesigned and built in 16 months during World War II — 17.5 miles of corridors, a five-acre central courtyard, and a 9/11 memorial at the exact point of impact.
- United States CapitolEvery street address in Washington DC radiates outward from this building — it is literally the zero point of the city.
- Washington MonumentThe faint color seam partway up the shaft marks where construction stopped for 23 years.
- Smithsonian InstitutionBritish scientist James Smithson left a bequest that became 157 million objects, 21 museums, and a zoo — almost all free to walk into.
- Arlington National CemeteryThe ground holding 400,000 graves was seized from Robert E. Lee's own family over an unpaid tax bill in 1864.