To preserve and promote democracy in the Netherlands and to increase alertness to all forms of dictatorship, discrimination and racism.

Although the first Geuzen (`Beggars') were not able to keep up the fight for long - many of the first group died or were sent to concentration camps - it was they who lit the flame of freedom and passed it on. The Geuzen Resistance 1940-1945 Foundation is charged in turn with keeping the fire burning, especially among Dutch youth.

The Geuzen Resistance 1940-1945 Foundation (Stichting Geuzenverzet 1940-1945) was established to keep alive the ideals and memory of the `Geuzen' (`Beggars') resistance group from the Second World War. Since 1987 the foundation has awarded a Geuzen Medal every year as a tribute to individuals or institutions that have, in some special way, devoted themselves to fighting for democracy or against dictatorship, discrimination and racism.