On a warm Friday afternoon in October, 13 graduate students from Scandinavia and 3 from Bulgaria gathered with TOLI Director Dr. Sondra Perl and Thanks to Scandinavia Executive Director Kelly Ramot to celebrate scholarships they had all received from the latter nonprofit organization (www.thankstoscandinavia.org).

The gathering at the Memorial Library was both social and academic giving these scholars a chance to meet each other, to hear from Leo Goldberger, a Danish child survivor of the Holocaust, and to share what they know about the history of the Holocaust in their countries. This was the second time TOLI hosted the gathering for Thanks to Scandinavia which was created to honor the extraordinary acts of bravery by ordinary individuals to protect their Jewish neighbors during WWII. The young scholars learned about the life and vision of TOLI’s founder, Olga Lengyel, and also watched Boatlift, a rescue story on American soil that depicts the rescue of 9/11 victims from the shores of lower Manhattan. The shared interests of both organizations made for an exciting afternoon of conversation about the power of individuals to make a difference.