The Geuzenpenning ('Beggar Medal') is a Dutch award given to persons or organizations who have fought for democracy and against dictatorship, racism and discrimination. It has been awarded annually since 1987 in the city of

Vlaardingen Vlaardingen () is a large town and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in South Holland in the Netherlands. It is located on the north bank of the Nieuwe Maas river at the confluence with the Oude Maas. The municipality admin ...

. The Geuzenpenning is an initiative of the Geuzen Resistance 1940–1945 Foundation. The organization takes its name from the a resistance group called 'Geuzen' which was active during World War II around

Maassluis Maassluis () is a town in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality had a population of in and covered of which was water. It received town rights in 1811. History Maassluis was founded circa 1340 as a se ...

and

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...

. The resistance group, in turn, took its name from the

Geuzen ''Geuzen'' (; ; ) was a name assumed by the confederacy of Calvinist Dutch nobles, who from 1566 opposed Spanish rule in the Netherlands. The most successful group of them operated at sea, and so were called ''Watergeuzen'' (; ; ). In the Eigh ...

(from French ''gueux'' 'beggars'), a collection of armed groups that fought the Spanish occupation of the

Low Countries The Low Countries (; ), historically also known as the Netherlands (), is a coastal lowland region in Northwestern Europe forming the lower Drainage basin, basin of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta and consisting today of the three modern "Bene ...

in the 16th century, during the

Dutch Revolt The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt (; 1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish government. The causes of the war included the Reformation, centralisation, exc ...

. Fifteen of the WWII Geuzen were executed by German forces at the Waaldorp

plain In geography, a plain, commonly known as flatland, is a flat expanse of land that generally does not change much in elevation, and is primarily treeless. Plains occur as lowlands along valleys or at the base of mountains, as coastal plains, and ...

on 13 March 1941, along with three leaders of the

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

February Strike. After the war, surviving members of the group started the foundation to honor the memory of their fallen comrades and the Geuzen ideals, to promote and maintain democracy in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

and to heighten global awareness of all forms of dictatorship, discrimination and racism.

Recipients

The Geuzenpenning has been awarded to: *1987 –

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...

, Netherlands chapter *1988 –

Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands Wilhelmina (; Wilhelmina Helena Pauline Maria; 31 August 1880 – 28 November 1962) was Queen of the Netherlands from 1890 until her abdication in 1948. She reigned for nearly 58 years, making her the longest-reigning monarch in Dutch history, as ...

(posthumously) *1989 – Stichting Februari 1941 (February 1941 Foundation) *1990 –

Richard von Weizsäcker Richard Karl Freiherr von Weizsäcker (; 15 April 1920 – 31 January 2015) was a German politician ( CDU), who served as President of Germany from 1984 to 1994. Born into the aristocratic Weizsäcker family, who were part of the German nobili ...

, president of

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

*1991 – Bernard IJzerdraat, resistance fighter (posthumously) and

László Tőkés László Tőkés ( ; born 1 April 1952) is an ethnically Hungarian pastor and politician from Romania. He was a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from 2007 to 2019. Tőkés served as a Vice-President of the European Parliament from 2010 ...

, Romanian minister and revolutionary *1992 – Anne Frank Foundation *1993 – Max van der Stoel, UN inspector in

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

and

High Commissioner on National Minorities The office of the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities (HCNM) is charged with identifying and seeking early resolution of ethnic tension that might endanger peace, stability or friendly relations between and within the participating state ...

in Europe *1994 –

Doctors without Borders Doctor, Doctors, The Doctor or The Doctors may refer to: Titles and occupations * Physician, a medical practitioner * Doctor (title), an academic title for the holder of a doctoral-level degree ** Doctorate ** List of doctoral degrees awarded ...

, Netherlands chapter *1995 –

Václav Havel Václav Havel (; 5 October 193618 December 2011) was a Czech statesman, author, poet, playwright, and dissident. Havel served as the last List of presidents of Czechoslovakia, president of Czechoslovakia from 1989 until 1992, prior to the dissol ...

, president of the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

*1996 –

Harry Wu Harry Wu (; February 8, 1937 – April 26, 2016) was a Chinese-American human rights activist. Wu spent 19 years in Chinese labor camps, and he became a resident and citizen of the United States. In 1992, he founded the Laogai Research Fo ...

, Chinese dissident *1997 –

Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo The Mothers of Plaza de Mayo () is an Argentina, Argentine human rights association formed in response to abuses by the National Reorganization Process, the military dictatorship by Jorge Rafael Videla. Initially the association worked to find ...

*1998 –

Vera Chirwa Vera Mlangazua Chirwa (born 26 May 1932) is a Malawi-born lawyer and human and civil rights activist. She was Malawi's first woman lawyer and a founding member of the Malawi Congress Party and the Nyasaland African Women's League. She fought for ...

(

Malawi Malawi, officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast, and Mozambique to the east, south, and southwest. Malawi spans over and ...

, Africa),

Noel Pearson Noel Pearson (born 25 June 1965) is an Australian lawyer and founder of the Cape York Partnership, an organisation promoting the economic and social development of Cape York. He is also the Founder of Good to Great Schools Australia an organi ...

(Australia), Muchtar Pakpahan (

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

, Asia), Rosalina Tuyuc (

Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...

, Americas) and

Sergei Kovalyov Sergei Adamovich Kovalyov (also spelled Sergey Kovalev; ; 2 March 1930 – 9 August 2021) was a Russian human rights activist and politician. During the Soviet period he was a dissident and, after 1975, a political prisoner. Early career and ...

(

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, Europe) *1999 –

Human Rights Association (Turkey) The Human Rights Association (, İHD) is an NGO for advancing Human rights in Turkey, founded in 1986 and headquartered in Ankara. Establishment The İHD's origins can be traced to the victims of the purges in the aftermath of the military ...

, Turkish human rights organization *2000 – Nataša Kandić (

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

) and

Veton Surroi Veton Surroi (born 17 July 1961) is a Kosovar Albanian publicist, politician and former journalist. Surroi is the founder and former leader of the ORA political party, and was a member of Kosovo assembly from 2004 to 2008. Veton Surroi studied ...

(

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

Kosovo Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...

), human rights activists *2001 –

European Roma Rights Centre The European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC) is a Roma-led, international public interest law organisation engaging in a range of activities aimed at combating anti-Romani racism and human rights abuse of Romani people. The approach of the ERRC involve ...

and the Dutch National

Sinti The Sinti (masc. sing. ''Sinto''; fem. sing. ''Sintetsa, Sinta'') are a subgroup of the Romani people. They are found mostly in Germany, France, Italy and Central Europe, numbering some 200,000 people. They were traditionally Itinerant groups i ...

Organisation *2002 –

Asma Jahangir Asma may refer to: * Asma (given name), list of people with the given name * Asma, Bozdoğan, a village in the district of Bozdoğan, Aydın Province, Turkey * Asma, Socotra, a village and ridge on the island of Socotra, Yemen * Tropical Storm ...

, Pakistani lawyer and women's rights advocate *2003 –

Defence for Children International Defence for Children International (DCI) is an international non-governmental organisation (INGO) set up in 1979, during the International Year of the Child, to ensure on-going, practical, systematic and concerted international and national acti ...

*2004 –

Íngrid Betancourt Íngrid Betancourt Pulecio (; born 25 December 1961) is a Colombian-French politician, former senator, and anti-corruption activist. She gained international prominence after being kidnapped by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) i ...

, Colombian politician *2005 –

Richard Gere Richard Tiffany Gere ( ; born August 31, 1949) is an American actor. He began appearing in films in the 1970s, playing a supporting role in ''Looking for Mr. Goodbar (film), Looking for Mr. Goodbar'' (1977) and a starring role in ''Days of Hea ...

on behalf of

International Campaign for Tibet The International Campaign for Tibet (ICT) is a non-profit advocacy group working to promote democratic freedoms for Tibetans, ensure their human rights, and protect Tibetan culture and the environment. Founded in 1988, ICT is the world's larges ...

, an organization for human rights and democracy in

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ), or Greater Tibet, is a region in the western part of East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are other ethnic groups s ...

*2006 – Haitham Maleh, Syrian human rights activist *2007 –

Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Headquartered in New York City, the group investigates and reports on issues including War crime, war crimes, crim ...

*2008 –

Martti Ahtisaari Martti Oiva Kalevi Ahtisaari (, 23 June 1937 – 16 October 2023) was a Finnish politician, the tenth president of Finland, from 1994 to 2000, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, and a United Nations diplomat and mediation, mediator noted for his inte ...

, former president of

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

and mediator of international conflicts and civil wars *2009 – Al Haq and B'Tselem, a

Palestinian Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine. *: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's death in 632 CE; Jerusalem fell to the Caliph Umar in 638. The indigenous p ...

and an

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

i human rights organization respectively *2010 – Betty Bigombe, president of the Arcadia Foundation *2011 –

Sima Samar Sima Samar (; born 3 February 1957) is a Hazara human rights advocate, activist and medical doctor within national and international forums, who served as Vice President of Afghanistan in the interim Government of Hamid Karzai & Minister for Wo ...

, Afghan human rights activist, and the

Armed forces of the Netherlands The Netherlands Armed Forces () are the military forces of the Kingdom of the Netherlands (mainland Netherlands in Europe and islands of the Dutch Caribbean). The armed forces consist of four service branches: the Royal Netherlands Navy (), the ...

*2012 – Grigory Shvedov, Russian human rights activist and journalist *2013 – Radhia Nasraoui, Tunesian lawyer and human rights activist *2014 –

Thomas Hammarberg Thomas Hammarberg (born 2 January 1942) is a Sweden, Swedish diplomat and human rights defender. He held the post of Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights in Strasbourg from 1 April 2006 to 31 March 2012. He succeeded the first Commi ...

, Swedish human rights activist *2015 – *2016 –

Migrant Offshore Aid Station The Migrant Offshore Aid Station (MOAS) is an international humanitarian non-governmental organization based in Malta that provides aid and assistance to vulnerable communities worldwide. MOAS main focus is responding quickly and efficiently to eme ...

*2017 – Alice Nkom and Michel Togué, lawyers and

LGBT LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The gro ...

advocates from Cameroon *2018 – Girls Not Brides: The Global Partnership to End Child Marriage *2019 – Padre Alejandro Solalinde Guerra, Mexican human rights activist and priest *2020 – ACPRA, Saudi human rights organisation *2021 –

Małgorzata Gersdorf Małgorzata Maria Gersdorf (; born 22 November 1952) is a Polish lawyer and judge who served as the First President of the Supreme Court of Poland. She was appointed in 2014 and her six-year term ended on 30 April 2020. Biography She graduated f ...

, a Polish lawyer and former supreme court judge * 2022 �
Lawyers for Lawyers
* 2023 – Assistance Association for Political Prisoners of Burma *2024 – Laila Haidari, Afghan activist and restaurateur.

References

External links

Geuzen Resistance 1940–1945 foundation
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130322092801/http://www.geuzenverzet.nl/index.php?lang=EN , date=22 March 2013 Dutch awards Human rights in the Netherlands Vlaardingen Human rights awards