Traveling Exhibit Arrives at TJMHC

From the Desk of Emily S. Hager, Director of Programming & Education

Triumph in Tragedy, a new traveling exhibit honoring Arizona’s local Holocaust survivors, was recently installed in our Holocaust Center. The exhibit is a collaboration between the Arizona Jewish Historical Society and Hilton Family Holocaust Education Center. The segment on view at TJMHC features Holocaust survivor and Tucson resident, Andrew Schot. 

Schot was born in the Netherlands in 1931. He was nine years old when Hitler invaded in 1940, and events would soon change his life dramatically. While he wasn’t considered Jewish under Jewish law (his father was Jewish but his mother was not), he was suddenly considered Jewish under the Nuremberg Laws, and found himself, along with other Jewish children, banned from all educational institutions. It was at a new, much smaller school, away from any of his previous school friends and peers, that Schot got to know two young girls named Anne and Margot Frank. Otto Frank’s place of business was right across the street from Andrew’s house, and the three students would often walk together after school. 

This installation of Triumph and Tragedy juxtaposes two people, around the same age and who shared the same religious heritage, but whose paths had two vastly different outcomes. Andrew generously shares his memories of Margot Frank, allowing us to honor them both in this traveling exhibit.

Triumph in Tragedy is a collaboration between the Arizona Jewish Historical Society and Hilton Family Holocaust Education Center. Additional exhibitions throughout the state include:

Valley of the Sun JCC

October 30, 2025-May 29, 2026

Yavapai Community College

November 4, 2025-August 31, 2026

Tucson Jewish Museum & Holocaust Center

December 2025-August 2026

Arizona Capitol Museum

November 24, 2025 through 2026

Tempe History Museum

December 17, 2025-April 2, 2026

Martin Spring Institute at NAU

March 2026-March 2027