The University of Pittsburgh Library System (ULS) and the Pittsburgh section of the National Council of Jewish women has given a beautiful gift to the local community, an online oral history project, "Pittsburgh and Beyond: The Experience of the Jewish Community."
More than 500 audio interviews of members of the local Jewish community, covering a 32-year period, have been digitized and shared with the world making it one of the largest oral history projects of its kind. Trained volunteers interviewed Jewish men and women who came to America from Eastern Europe between 1890 and 1924 in the first phase of the project in 1968.
The second phase preserved the oral histories of Pittsburgh Jewish men and women who made contributions locally, nationally and internationally. More than 516 individuals were interviewed between 1968 and 2001, including former Pittsburgh mayor Sophie Masloff, the late great musician Lorin Maazel, the late Post-Gazette publisher William Block and pioneering breast cancer researcher Bernard Fisher. The project has producted 1,200 hours of recordings on 1,100 audiocassettes.
"These interviews illustrate an entire century of a community through the eyes of its residents, including the fight to overcome political corruption, the struggle for women's rights, and the journeys of immigrants," says Rush Miller, Hillman librarian and director of the ULS. "It is a reminder of the strength and fortitude of those who came before us. It is a valuable tool for anyone studying the historical changes that occurred during the 20th century."
Visitors to the site can search for the name of an interviewee or retrieve an abstract of the interview by using keywords. The collection can also be browsed by personal name, geographic region, or subject.
Source: Sharon Stewart Blake, Rush Miller, ULS
Photograph courtesy of the ULS and NCJW