"They shall not pass" ( and ; ; ) is a

slogan A slogan is a memorable motto or phrase used in a clan or a political, commercial, religious, or other context as a repetitive expression of an idea or purpose, with the goal of persuading members of the public or a more defined target group ...

, notably used by France in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, to express a determination to defend a position against an enemy. Its Spanish-language form was also used as an

anti-fascist Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers were op ...

slogan during the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

by the Republican faction.

Origin

The widespread use of the slogan originates from the 1916

Battle of Verdun The Battle of Verdun ( ; ) was fought from 21 February to 18 December 1916 on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front in French Third Republic, France. The battle was the longest of the First World War and took place on the hills north ...

in the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

when

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (, , ), is the principal Army, land warfare force of France, and the largest component of the French Armed Forces; it is responsible to the Government of France, alongside the French Navy, Fren ...

General

Robert Nivelle Robert Georges Nivelle (15 October 1856 – 22 March 1924) was a French artillery general officer who served in the Boxer Rebellion and the First World War. In May 1916, he succeeded Philippe Pétain as commander of the French Second Army in the ...

urged his troops not to let the enemy pass. The simplified slogan of "they shall not pass" appeared on French war propaganda posters, most notably by French artist Maurice Neumont in the last year of the war after the Allied victory at the Second Battle of the Marne. Later during the First World War, the slogan was also used by

Romanian Army The Romanian Land Forces () is the army of Romania, and the main component of the Romanian Armed Forces. Since 2007, full professionalization and a major equipment overhaul have transformed the nature of the Land Forces. The Romanian Land Forc ...

soldiers during the

Battle of Mărășești The Battle of Mărășești (6 August 1917 – 3 September 1917) was the last major battle fought by the Central Powers against the Kingdom of Romania and Russian Empire, Russia on the Romania in World War I, Romanian front during World War I. ...

, with the Romanian translation of the phrase being "", translating as "One does not pass through here."

Later use

French socialist politician

Léon Blum André Léon Blum (; 9 April 1872 – 30 March 1950) was a French socialist politician and three-time Prime Minister of France. As a Jew, he was heavily influenced by the Dreyfus affair of the late 19th century. He was a disciple of socialist l ...

(

SFIO The C programming language provides many standard library functions for file input and output. These functions make up the bulk of the C standard library header . The functionality descends from a "portable I/O package" written by Mike Lesk at ...

), in 1934, used this sentence "" against the Ligue's demonstration of 6 February. ("they") designated the nationalist protesters. It was also used during the

, this time at the

siege of Madrid The siege of Madrid was a two-and-a-half-year siege of the Second Spanish Republic, Republican-controlled Spain, Spanish capital city of Madrid by the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist armies, under General Francisco Franco, ...

Dolores Ibárruri Gómez Dolores, Spanish for "pain; grief", most commonly refers to: * Our Lady of Sorrows or La Virgen María de los Dolores * Dolores (given name), including list of people and fictional characters with the name Dolores may also refer to: Film * ''D ...

("Pasionaria"), a member of the

Communist Party of Spain The Communist Party of Spain (; PCE) is a communist party that, since 1986, has been part of the United Left coalition, which is currently part of Sumar. Two of its politicians are Spanish government ministers: Yolanda Díaz (Minister of L ...

, in her famous "" speech. The leader of the Nationalist forces, Francisco Franco, upon gaining Madrid, responded to this slogan by declaring "" ("We have passed"). "" was used by British anti-fascists during the October 1936

Battle of Cable Street The Battle of Cable Street was a series of clashes that took place at several locations in the East End of London, most notably Cable Street, on Sunday 4 October 1936. It was a clash between the Metropolitan Police, sent to protect a march ...

, and is still used in this context in some political circles. It was often accompanied by the words (we will pass) to indicate that communists rather than fascists will be the ones to seize state power. The slogan was adopted on uniform badges by French units manning the

Maginot Line The Maginot Line (; ), named after the Minister of War (France), French Minister of War André Maginot, is a line of concrete fortifications, obstacles and weapon installations built by French Third Republic, France in the 1930s to deter invas ...

. The phrase was brought to the public consciousness again following action in December 1943 by

French-Canadian French Canadians, referred to as Canadiens mainly before the nineteenth century, are an ethnic group descended from French colonists first arriving in France's colony of Canada in 1608. The vast majority of French Canadians live in the prov ...

officer

Paul Triquet Brigadier-General Paul Triquet (April 2, 1910 – August 8, 1980) was a Canadian recipient of the Victoria Cross (VC), the highest and most prestigious award for valour in the presence of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealt ...

of the Royal 22^e Regiment; his action included his use of Nivelle's phrase "to win a key objective at

Ortona Ortona ( Abruzzese: '; ) is a coastal town and municipality of the Province of Chieti in the Italian region of Abruzzo, with some 23,000 inhabitants. In 1943 Ortona was the site of the bloody Battle of Ortona, known as "Western Stalingrad". ...

, Italy, in the face of overwhelming German opposition." In the 1980s, the phrase was a theme in the

Central American crisis The Central American crisis began in the late 1970s, when major civil wars and communist revolutions erupted in various countries in Central America, causing it to become the world's most volatile region in terms of socioeconomic change. In particu ...

, particularly in the

Nicaraguan Revolution The Nicaraguan Revolution () began with rising opposition to the Somoza dictatorship in the 1960s and 1970s, the ouster of the dictatorship in 1978–79, and fighting between the government and the Contras from 1981 to 1990. The revolution r ...

. is also the title of a 1984 documentary by David Bradbury about the events in Nicaragua that led to the overthrow of Somoza's dictatorship. In 2024, it was adopted as a motto by the

155th Mechanized Brigade (Ukraine) The 155th Separate Mechanized Brigade () is a brigade of the Ukrainian Ground Forces formed in 2024 and partially trained in France. In January 2025, it became the subject of controversy after it was reported that around 1,700 members of the bri ...

, because it was trained and equipped by France.

Gallery

File:Médaille de Verdun du colonel Brébant (recto).jpg, , French medal for the

File:Battle-of-Cable-Street-red-plaque.png, alt=Red plaque from Tower Hamlets Environment Trust reading The Battle of Cable Street. The people of East London rallied to Cable Street on the 4th October 1936 and forced back the march of the fascist Oswald Mosley and his Blackshirts through the streets of the East End. 'They Shall Not Pass', Red plaque commemorating the

File:Pe aici nu se trece - mormântul eroului necunoscut - Mausoleul de la Marasesti.jpg, Tomb of the unknown soldier at the Mausoleum of Mărășești with the inscription ""

References

{{World War I Anti-fascism in the United Kingdom Communism English phrases Slogans Battle cries Battle of Verdun 1916 quotations Political catchphrases

Origin

Later use

Gallery

See also

References