ack in 1957, Richard Netter came across a little-known book of stories about rescue during the Second World War. Their Brothers’ Keepers, later reprinted by Thanks To Scandinavia, was among the very first volumes to document how a small number of fortunate Jews were rescued from the horror of the Holocaust.

Not long after, Richard Netter joined forces with Victor Borge, the beloved pianist and entertainer, to pay tribute to the Danes, whose rescue of Jews mobilized an entire society.

Thanks to the Danes, as the organization was called in its first year, was launched in 1963. At a major opening event attended by the prime minister of Denmark, Victor Borge performed a dramatic piece he wrote for the evening called "The Legend." In the following years, the organization expanded to recognize the rescue efforts of Finland, Norway, and Sweden.

From its early days, Thanks To Scandinavia was dedicated to involving younger generations of Scandinavians and building on the history of friendship. The foundation funds scholarships for students and teachers from those countries, giving them the opportunity to study in the United States and, since the 1990s,
in Israel.

To date, Thanks To Scandinavia has given scholarships to over 3,000 individuals at hundreds of educational institutions. Many scholars retain close friendships from their time abroad to this day. In 2003, TTS expanded its mandate to create an annual scholarship for Bulgaria, recognizing that country’s extraordinary rescue of 50,000 Jews.