History Center launches new digital archive documenting synagogue attack
The Senator John Heinz History Center’s Rauh Jewish History Program and Archives has launched a website to share archival materials collected following the antisemitic attack against three congregations at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life synagogue on Oct. 27, 2018.
The October 27 Archive website, october27archive.org, documents the outpouring of support for the Jewish community from people in Western Pennsylvania and around the world.
Since the attack, the Rauh Jewish History Program and Archives has collected tens of thousands of documents, artifacts, and news articles documenting local efforts to create bonds and to address global antisemitism. The website includes 150 of these objects and will grow over the next several months to include a vast selection of materials from the existing archive.
“Each object included in the October 27 Archive represents a single response to the Oct. 27 attack,” said Eric Lidji, director of the Rauh Jewish History Program and Archives. “By bringing all these objects together in one place, we honor the many incredible responses to that terrible day. As this website grows in the years to come, we hope it will help people heal, connect, inspire, educate, and work together to improve the world.”
The site is also the home of the “Meanings of October 27” oral history project, which includes recordings with more than 100 people from different walks of life – both Jewish and non-Jewish from across the region – discussing their lives and offering their reflections on the attack. The first 20 oral histories from the project are on the website, with more to come.
The October 27 Archive website was created in partnership with the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, using funds awarded through the federal Antiterrorism Emergency Assistance Program (AEAP). The website is believed to be the first archival project funded through AEAP, which is typically reserved for social services impacted by domestic terrorism events.