The Collection

The October 27 Archive currently contains 176 objects and is regularly being expanded with more material. The archive includes flyers and programs from community gatherings held since the October 27 attack, a comprehensive collection of news coverage about the day of the event, oral history recordings reflecting a diverse array of experiences, and historical documentation about the Jewish experience in Western Pennsylvania.

Using this archive

You can view all the materials currently included in the archive using the browser below. Each object has been described and cataloged to help you discover materials, learn about these materials, understand the context in which these materials were created, and draw connections between different materials. You can refine the browsing experience using various filters, including creator, type, and subject. Some of these filters have already been used to create preset galleries, each organized around specific aspects of the archive. You can also look for specific words and phrase found in the archive using a keyword search.

 

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A dense cluster of memorial gifts, including flowers, newspapers, and a stuffed bear at the centre of the image.

Circles

The October 27 attack was a local event with global impacts.

Efforts to understand these impacts have often used the metaphor of “concentric circles." Each circle represents a group of people, united by their proximity to the attack. There are the victims and their loved one, the survivors and their families, the first responders, members of the three attacked congregations, the many Jewish people and communities throughout Western Pennsylvania and all across the world, the residents of Squirrel Hill, the people of Pittsburgh, and continuing outward to include anyone in the world who has felt pain and loss as a result of that day.

This way of understanding October 27 is not intended to prioritize grief. It is a way of acknowledging the widespread trauma caused by the attack while also respecting the differences between particular experiences. As each circle stretches outward, it also expands to include more people.

Joyce Fienberg
Richard Gottfried
Rose Mallinger
Jerry Rabinowitz
Cecil Rosenthal
David Rosenthal
Bernice Simon
Sylvan Simon
Daniel Stein
Melvin Wax
Irving Younger

In Memoriam

We remember the eleven people killed in the October 27 attack.

"Beloved and dear, in their life and their death they were not parted." —II Samuel 1:23

Joyce Fienberg

Richard Gottfried

Rose Mallinger

Jerry Rabinowitz

Cecil Rosenthal

David Rosenthal

Bernice Simon

Sylvan Simon

Daniel Stein

Melvin Wax

Irving Younger

The Congregations

In the months following the October 27 attack, many public accounts have used the shorthand “three congregations” to explain the shared living arrangements within a single large Squirrel Hill synagogue. Grouping these three congregations together based solely by their mutual tragedy ignores their individual characteristics. Each was created to fill specific religious and spiritual needs. Each developed along a particular path, reflecting different eras, ethnicities, practices, and ideas within American Judaism. Through their histories, each of these congregations illuminates a different corner of the larger Jewish history of our region.

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Synagogue entrance with memorial displays, include Stars of David bearing the name of October 27 victims.

Jewish Response

Western Pennsylvania is home to dozens of Jewish organizations, each reflecting a different expression of Jewish life. The region has many congregations representing different geographical areas and different religious denominations, and each with a distinct culture. There are charitable organizations devoted to improving life locally and globally. There are organizations devoted to different aspects of human endeavor, including politics, social justice, athletics, education, and the arts. Each of the organizations represented here responded to the October 27 in its own way, reflecting its history, its traditions, its culture, and its members.

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