Dear Friend,
It is with immense sorrow that I write this open letter on behalf of the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation.
Please allow me to offer our most sincere and heartfelt condolences to the Polish nation and all of our Polish friends worldwide. We pause with them as they mourn and reflect upon the tragic death of President Lech Kaczyński, his wife Maria and the ninety-five renowned members of their travelling delegation, including Anna Walentynowicz, recipient of our Truman-Reagan Medal of Freedom. It compounds our pain to know that were themselves traveling to memorialize another massive tragedy at the Katyn Forrest that occurred seventy years ago.
Few nations have suffered more under tyranny. Poland has always been at the center of our prayers and our Foundation's work to remember the victims of communism and to educate this and future generations about the 100 million people who perished under communist regimes.
Today, the Polish people are again unified in their grief. It is a testament to their extraordinary resilience that they endure this new heartbreak with the same steadfast courage that they have always gathered.
The greatest tribute we can pay to the victims of this most recent tragedy and to those of the Katyn Forrest massacre will be to carry on with our educational and memorial effort for generations to come, and to keep them all in our prayers.
Sincerely,
Lee Edwards
Chairman, VICTIMS OF COMMUNISM MEMORIAL FOUNDATION
Dedicated to the 100 million victims of communism worldwide
