Our History

Youth For Understanding humbly started in the United States in 1951 in an effort to heal the wounds of World War II.

John Eberly, an American minister, understood that the hardships prevalent in post-war Germany were having devastating effects on the country's youth, placing them in a cycle of bitterness, hopelessness, and despair. He proposed to local church leaders that they create a youth exchange program to bring German students to the United States to live with a family and attend high school for a year with financial support by the US Department of State. His vision and hope was that the exchange experience would motivate the students to return to Germany and rebuild their country as a democracy, according to what they observed while living in the United States.

The leadership of this vision was handed off to, and brought to life by, Dr. Rachel Andresen who founded YFU and served as its longtime Executive Director.

Read about Rachel

The initial exchanges established the concept of full immersion into a family living and high school experience and opened the doors for YFU’s expansion to other parts of the world. When the government funding ceased in the mid-fifties, volunteers rallied to keep the program alive; in fact, for many decades, YFU was a purely volunteer-run initiative. In 1957, YFU Germany was founded by alumni that were so positively impacted by their own exchange experience that they wanted to enable future students to experience the same. In 1958, the program grew to include Scandinavia and, in the sixties, expanded to western Europe. In 1958, YFU also bridged the Pacific when the first students came from Japan. The Pacific program now offers a variety of countries such as Thailand, China, and Australia. Youth For Understanding was introduced to Latin America in 1958 as well, beginning with Mexico, with South American countries following a few years later. In 1989, the fall of the Berlin Wall allowed Central and Eastern European countries to join the program, followed by Africa in 1994 when YFU South Africa was founded. Today, YFU's network includes over 45 countries and has served hundreds of thousands of exchange students. As we continue to develop and reach more countries, students, and families, we hold steadfast to our roots in volunteering and education for a culture of democracy.