The October 27 Archive currently contains 839 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.
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.
Handwritten card from a student at Goddard Middle School in Littleton, Co. The cover contains a quote attributed to the ancient Chinese philosopher, Confucius: "Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall" in the upper left corner. The cover features a full-length illustration of a mountainous landscape with a deer at the center as the sun sets. The inside reads: "Dear Rabbi Jeffrey Myers, I am sorry that someone would ever do that. We're thinking about you all the way in Colorado. I'm a student in middle school. My name is Erin. It upsets me that someone would do something in this time and age. -Erin [last name redacted], Littleton, CO." The author's signature is accompanied by a small Star of David; illustrations of the Pennsylvania and Colorado state flags appear below.
In the days after the October 27 attack, people began leaving objects at two locations outside the Tree of Life synagogue--one at the corner of Wilkins and Shady avenues in front of the Zittrain Gardens, and the other on a private lawn at Wilkins and Murray avenues, just beyond police barricades. Community volunteers moved the entirety of these two memorials inside the Tree of Life building on November 14, 2018, for preservation purposes. Most of these objects including this one were moved to archival preservation over the following year, but a small number were arranged in public display in the windows of the Hailperin Sanctuary. Rauh Jewish Archives staff and volunteers dismantled this display on February 16, 2023, and the objects were brought to the archive for preservation. Goddard Middle School is a public middle school in Littleton, Colorado.
Handwritten card from a student at Goddard Middle School in Littleton, Co. The cover contains a quote attributed to the ancient Chinese philosopher, Confucius: "Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall" in the upper left corner. The cover features a full-length illustration of a mountainous landscape with a deer at the center as the sun sets. The inside reads: "Dear Rabbi Jeffrey Myers, I am sorry that someone would ever do that. We're thinking about you all the way in Colorado. I'm a student in middle school. My name is Erin.
Terms of Use
The October 27 Archive collects responses to an antisemitic attack in Pittsburgh, Pa. on October 27, 2018. These responses take many forms but share a motivating impulse. Each began in the mind and heart of someone who was moved by the events of that day and was compelled to create something meaningful from that feeling. By sharing these responses, those people chose to be vulnerable for the sake of a greater good. The October 27 Archive website was launched with the belief that sharing these responses with the world can provide an avenue for people all over the world to reflect, learn, and heal.
By entering this website, you agree to honor the spirit in which these responses were created and in which they are being shared with the world.
The materials on this website are being made available exclusively for research purposes. For permission to use any of the materials on this website for any other purpose, please contact the archive. If you are the creator of any of the material on this website, and you would like to provide context or request to have something removed, please contact the archive. If you intend to reference any material found on this website, please attribute all citations to the Rauh Jewish Archives, so that other researchers can easily locate these materials in the future.