Victims of Communism Museum in DC aims to educate public on complex history

WASHINGTON (FOX 5 DC) - D.C. is home to the Air and Space Museum, multiple art museums and even a spy museum. But the latest addition to the District's lineup of museums takes on a tough subject in a brand-new facility.

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The Victims of Communism Museum opened last month and is rooted in history. Communism has been an adversary of the U.S. throughout time and this museum is a living memorial to both the one hundred million victims of communism and the 1.5 billion who still live under it today.

From Tiananmen Square to Stalin's crackdowns, the museum tells the history of communism using historic artifacts and high-tech video walls.

"Joseph Stalin was one of the worst mass murders in human history," says Andrew Bremberg, president of the museum. "And if we don’t know that, if you don’t know that, when you hear the type of propaganda put forward by Putin today and his attempts at re-Sovieting of Russia and his imperial action within the region."

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The museum opened last month and features 10,000 square feet of exhibits divided into three categories: revolutions, repression and resistance.

Interactive displays tell the stories of both victims and survivors of communism. It also puts visitors in the shoes of people who had to make hard choices in order to survive.

"To hear that’s what Putin and Russia are doing today in parts of eastern Ukraine is incredibly disturbing and powerful to hear about, but you won’t know and understand the context of what’s happening if you don’t know the actual history," says Bremberg.

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The museum is located on McPherson Square, just one block from the White House, and it is open Monday through Friday.