![Berlin-Memorial to the Victims of the Wall-1982](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b5/Berlin-Memorial_to_the_Victims_of_the_Wall-1982.jpg)
"Wall of Shame" (german: Schandmauer) is a phrase that is most commonly associated with the
Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall (german: Berliner Mauer, ) was a guarded concrete barrier that encircled West Berlin from 1961 to 1989, separating it from East Berlin and East Germany (GDR). Construction of the Berlin Wall was commenced by the government ...
. In this context, the phrase was coined by
Willy Brandt
Willy Brandt (; born Herbert Ernst Karl Frahm; 18 December 1913 – 8 October 1992) was a German politician and statesman who was leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) from 1964 to 1987 and served as the chancellor of West Ge ...
, and it was used by the government of
West Berlin
West Berlin (german: Berlin (West) or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin during the years of the Cold War. Although West Berlin was de jure not part of West Germany, lacked any sovereignty, and was under mi ...
, and later popularized in the English-speaking world and elsewhere from the beginning of the 1960s. Inspired by its usage in reference to the Berlin Wall, the term has later been used more widely.
For example, the term "Wall of Shame" can be applied to things, including physical barriers (walls, fences, etc.) serving dishonourable or disputed separation purposes (like the Berlin Wall and the American border wall), physical and virtual bulletin boards listing names or images for purposes of shaming, and even lists in print (i.e., walls of text naming people, companies, etc. for the purpose of shaming them, or as record of embarrassment).
Additionally, "Wall of Shame" may be a significant part in the building of a "Hall of Shame", although, more often, a "Wall of Shame" is a monument in its own right (i.e., a wall not having been erected as part of any "Hall of Shame" endeavour). More recently, the term "Wall of Shame" has been used in reference to the
Mexico–United States barrier
The Mexico–United States barrier ( es, barrera Estados Unidos–México), also known as the border wall, is a series of vertical barriers along the Mexico–United States border intended to reduce illegal immigration to the United States ...
,
the
Egypt–Gaza barrier
The Egypt–Gaza barrier is a steel border barrier constructed by Egypt along its 14 kilometres (7.5 miles) border with the Gaza Strip. The Rafah border crossing is the only border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt.
In December 2009, ...
and the
Israeli West Bank barrier
The Israeli West Bank barrier, comprising the West Bank Wall and the West Bank fence, is a separation barrier built by Israel along the Green Line and inside parts of the West Bank. It is a contentious element of the Israeli–Palestinian c ...
.
Applied to Japanese culture
The earliest use of the term, which is a translation of a Japanese phrase, may have been by
Ruth Benedict
Ruth Fulton Benedict (June 5, 1887 – September 17, 1948) was an American anthropologist and folklorist.
She was born in New York City, attended Vassar College, and graduated in 1909. After studying anthropology at the New School of Social Re ...
, in her influential book, ''
The Chrysanthemum and the Sword
''The Chrysanthemum and the Sword: Patterns of Japanese Culture'' is a 1946 study of Japan by American anthropologist Ruth Benedict. It was written at the invitation of the U.S. Office of War Information, in order to understand and predict the b ...
'' (1948), and other anthropologists discussing the
honor shame culture of Japan.
Applied to the Berlin Wall
![Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-P057281, Berlin, Brandt besucht Notaufnahmelager](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/42/Bundesarchiv_B_145_Bild-P057281%2C_Berlin%2C_Brandt_besucht_Notaufnahmelager.jpg)
The term was used by the government of
West Berlin
West Berlin (german: Berlin (West) or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin during the years of the Cold War. Although West Berlin was de jure not part of West Germany, lacked any sovereignty, and was under mi ...
to refer to the
Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall (german: Berliner Mauer, ) was a guarded concrete barrier that encircled West Berlin from 1961 to 1989, separating it from East Berlin and East Germany (GDR). Construction of the Berlin Wall was commenced by the government ...
, which surrounded West Berlin and separated it from
East Berlin
East Berlin was the ''de facto'' capital city of East Germany from 1949 to 1990. Formally, it was the Allied occupation zones in Germany, Soviet sector of Berlin, established in 1945. The American, British, and French sectors were known as ...
and the GDR. In 1961, the government of
East Germany
East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...
named the erected wall as the "Anti-Fascist Protection Rampart", a part of the
inner German border
The inner German border (german: Innerdeutsche Grenze or ; initially also ) was the border between the German Democratic Republic (GDR, East Germany) and the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG, West Germany) from 1949 to 1990. Not including the ...
; many Berliners, however, called it "''Schandmauer''" ("Wall of Shame").
The term was coined by governing mayor
Willy Brandt
Willy Brandt (; born Herbert Ernst Karl Frahm; 18 December 1913 – 8 October 1992) was a German politician and statesman who was leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) from 1964 to 1987 and served as the chancellor of West Ge ...
. Outside Germany it first appeared as "Wall of Shame" in a cover story published by ''
TIME
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...
'' in 1962, and
President of the United States
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...
used the term in his Annual Message to the
US Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washingto ...
on the
State of the Union
The State of the Union Address (sometimes abbreviated to SOTU) is an annual message delivered by the president of the United States to a joint session of the United States Congress near the beginning of each calendar year on the current conditio ...
, 14 January 1963. Often, graffiti would be painted on points, where a street would intersect with the wall, often reading, "Road blocked by Wall of Shame".
The Berlin Wall was referred to as the "Wall of Shame" in many more recent notable contexts, such as:
* The academic article, "The Democratic Invention", by
Mário Soares
Mário Alberto Nobre Lopes Soares, GColTE, GCC, GColL (; 7 December 1924 – 7 January 2017) was a Portuguese politician, who served as prime minister of Portugal from 1976 to 1978 and from 1983 to 1985, and subsequently as the 17th presid ...
, former Prime Minister and later President of
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
(1986–1996)
* The "Our Europe" speech by
Jacques Chirac
Jacques René Chirac (, , ; 29 November 193226 September 2019) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. Chirac was previously Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and from 1986 to 1988, as well as Ma ...
, President of
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, to the
Bundestag
The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet") is the German federal parliament. It is the only federal representative body that is directly elected by the German people. It is comparable to the United States House of Representatives or the House of Commons ...
, 27 June 2000
* A speech in 2002 by
Romano Prodi
Romano Antonio Prodi (; born 9 August 1939) is an Italian politician, economist, academic, senior civil servant, and business executive who served as the tenth president of the European Commission from 1999 to 2004. He served twice as Prim ...
, Prime Minister of
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
and former President of the
European Commission
The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body o ...
Other uses
* In 1998,
UNIFEM
The United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM, french: Fonds de développement des Nations unies pour la femme, ) was established in December 1976 originally as the Voluntary Fund for the United Nations Decade for Women in the International ...
organized a photo exhibit at the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
that contrasted a "wall of shame", focusing on women's plight and suffering, with a "wall of hope", showcasing initiatives to end violence against women.
* An academic paper by M. Lachance (York University) talks about the Quebec "wall of shame".
* Peru's "Wall of Shame", a ten foot high wall outside
Lima
Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of t ...
, separating
San Juan de Miraflores
San Juan de Miraflores is a district of the Lima Province in Peru. It is located in the Cono Sur area of the city of Lima. Is one of the new towns, that have been formed by the massive numbers of people moving from other towns of Metropolitan Lim ...
and
Surco
Santiago de Surco, commonly known simply as Surco, is a district of Lima, Peru. It is bordered on the north with the district of Ate Vitarte and La Molina; on the east with San Juan de Miraflores, on the west with San Borja, Surquillo, Mirafl ...
.
* The 2016
separation wall around the
Ain al-Hilweh
Ain al-Hilweh ( ar, عين الحلوة, lit. meaning "sweet natural spring"), also spelled as Ayn al-Hilweh and Ein al-Hilweh, is the largest Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon. It had a population of over 70,000 Palestinian refugees but swell ...
camp in Lebanon, intended to separate the local
Palestinian-Lebanese population from the surrounding society.
* The
Egypt–Gaza barrier
The Egypt–Gaza barrier is a steel border barrier constructed by Egypt along its 14 kilometres (7.5 miles) border with the Gaza Strip. The Rafah border crossing is the only border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt.
In December 2009, ...
* The
Israeli West Bank barrier
The Israeli West Bank barrier, comprising the West Bank Wall and the West Bank fence, is a separation barrier built by Israel along the Green Line and inside parts of the West Bank. It is a contentious element of the Israeli–Palestinian c ...
* The
Mexico–United States barrier
The Mexico–United States barrier ( es, barrera Estados Unidos–México), also known as the border wall, is a series of vertical barriers along the Mexico–United States border intended to reduce illegal immigration to the United States ...
See also
*
The Shame
References
{{Berlin Wall
Walls
Berlin Wall
Separation barriers
1960s neologisms
Political metaphors
es:Muro de la Vergüenza