Editing They shall not pass

{{Short description|French military slogan}}
{{use dmy dates|date=July 2023}}
[[File:On Ne Passe Pas 1918.jpg|thumb|{{lang|fr|On ne passe pas&nbsp;!}} The 1918 French propaganda poster by [[Maurice Neumont]] that reads: "Twice I have stood and vanquished on the Marne. Brother civilian, the underhand offensive of 'white peace' will attack you in turn; and like me you must stand firm and vanquish. Be strong and shrewd. Beware of [[Boche (slur)|''Boche'']] hypocrisy."<ref>{{cite web | website=Temple University Libraries | url=https://digital.library.temple.edu/digital/collection/p16002coll9/id/3688/ | accessdate=17 March 2022 | title=Allied Posters of World War I: Par deux fois j'ai tenu et vaincu sur la Marne}}</ref>]]
"'''They shall not pass'''" ({{langx|fr|Ils ne passeront pas}} and {{langx|fr|On ne passe pas}}; {{langx|ro|Pe aici nu se trece}}; {{langx|es|No pasarán}}) is a [[slogan]], notably used by France in [[World War I]], to express a determination to defend a position against an enemy. Its Spanish-language form was also used as an [[anti-fascist]] slogan during the [[Spanish Civil War]] by the [[Republican faction (Spanish Civil War)|Republican]] faction.

==Origin==
[[File:On ne passe pas-1915.jpg|thumb|{{lang|fr|Halte la&nbsp;! On ne passe pas&nbsp;!}}<br />French card, 1915]]

The widespread use of the slogan originates from the 1916 [[Battle of Verdun]] in the [[First World War]] when [[French Army]] General [[Robert Nivelle]] urged his troops not to let the enemy pass.<ref name=DK>{{cite book | title=Battles that Changed History: Epic Conflicts Explored and Explained | date=September 2018 | isbn= 978-0241301937 | publisher=[[DK (publisher)|DK]] | author-link=Tony Robinson | first=Tony | last=Robinson | page=197}}</ref>  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]].<ref name=DK/>

Later during the First World War, the slogan was also used by [[Romanian Army]] soldiers during the [[Battle of Mărășești]], with the Romanian translation of the phrase being "{{lang|ro|Pe aici nu se trece}}", translating as "One does not pass through here."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rador.ro/2023/07/24/pe-aici-nu-se-trece-la-24-iulie-1917-incepea-batalia-de-la-marasesti/|title=”Pe aici nu se trece!”. La 24 iulie 1917 începea Bătălia de la Mărășești &#124; Agenția de presă Rador|first=Catalin|last=Belu|date=24 July 2023}}</ref>

==Later use==
French socialist politician [[Léon Blum]] ([[French Section of the Workers' International|SFIO]]), in 1934, used this sentence "{{lang|fr|Ils ne passeront pas&nbsp;!}}" against the [[6 February 1934 crisis|Ligue's demonstration of 6 February]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=1936, le Front Populaire et des lendemains qui chantent|url=https://www.franceinter.fr/emissions/affaires-sensibles/affaires-sensibles-17-novembre-2020|access-date=2020-11-20|website=www.franceinter.fr|date=17 November 2020|language=fr|archive-date=20 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201120012109/https://www.franceinter.fr/emissions/affaires-sensibles/affaires-sensibles-17-novembre-2020|url-status=dead}}</ref> {{lang|fr|Ils}} ("they") designated the nationalist protesters.

It was also used during the [[Spanish Civil War]], this time at the [[siege of Madrid]] by [[Dolores Ibárruri|Dolores Ibárruri Gómez]] ("Pasionaria"), a member of the [[Communist Party of Spain]], in her famous "{{lang|es|No pasarán}}" speech.<ref name="Ibárruri">{{cite book | last1=Ibárruri | first1=D. | last2=Ibárruri | first2=I.D. | author3=Partido Comunista de España | title=They Shall Not Pass: The Autobiography of La Pasionaria | publisher=International Publishers | series=New world paperbacks | year=1966 | isbn=978-0-7178-0468-9 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=j983FGkF1jEC | access-date=2020-06-22 | page=195}}</ref> The leader of the Nationalist forces, {{lang|es|Generalísimo}} Francisco Franco, upon gaining Madrid, responded to this slogan by declaring "{{lang|es|Hemos pasado}}" ("We have passed"). 

"{{lang|es|¡No pasarán!}}" was used by British anti-fascists during the October 1936 [[Battle of Cable Street]], and is still used in this context in some political circles. It was often accompanied by the words {{lang|es|¡Nosotros pasaremos!}} (we will pass) to indicate that communists rather than fascists will be the ones to seize [[power (social and political)|state power]].<ref>{{cite news |author=Audrey Gillan |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2006/sep/30/thefarright.past |title=Day the East End said ''No pasaran'' to Blackshirts |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=2006-10-02 |access-date=2012-06-21 |location=London}}</ref>

The slogan was adopted on uniform badges by French units manning the [[Maginot Line]].{{cn|date=March 2024}}

The phrase was brought to the public consciousness again following action in December 1943 by [[French Canadians|French-Canadian]] officer [[Paul Triquet]] of the [[Royal 22nd Regiment|Royal 22<sup>e</sup> Regiment]]; his action included his use of Nivelle's phrase "to win a key objective at [[Ortona]], Italy, in the face of overwhelming German opposition."<ref>{{cite news |title=French Canadian Wins Victoria Cross |newspaper=[[Ottawa Citizen]] |date=March 6, 1944 |access-date=September 15, 2014 |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2194&dat=19440304&id=lvouAAAAIBAJ&pg=4474,785365 }}</ref>

In the 1980s, the phrase {{lang|es|¡No pasarán!}} was a theme in the [[Central American crisis]], particularly in the [[Nicaraguan Revolution]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Kunzle |first=David |title=The Murals of Revolutionary Nicaragua, 1979–1992 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lSDgTC6JXI0C&pg=PA168 |year=1995 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=9780520081925 |page=168 }}</ref> {{lang|es|Nicaragua no pasarán}} is also the title of a 1984 documentary by [[David Bradbury (film maker)|David Bradbury]] about the events in Nicaragua that led to the overthrow of Somoza's dictatorship.<ref>{{cite book |last=Kallen |first=Stuart A. |title=The Aftermath of the Sandinista Revolution |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EUX22oowNIAC&pg=PA152 |year=2009 |publisher=Twenty-First Century Books |isbn=9780822590910 |page=152 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.frontlinefilms.com.au/videos/nicaragua.htm |title=Nicaragua: ''No Pasaran'' |publisher=Frontline Films |access-date=30 June 2015 |archive-date=28 May 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160528213106/http://www.frontlinefilms.com.au/videos/nicaragua.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=FitzSimons |first1=Trish |last2=Laughren |first2=Pat |last3=Williamson |first3=Dugald |title=Australian Documentary: History, Practices and Genres |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=v1_p2BdHjLUC&pg=PA267 |year=2011 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=9780521167994 |page=267 }}</ref>

In 2024, it was adopted as a motto by the [[155th Mechanized Brigade (Ukraine)]], because it was trained and equipped by France.

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:Médaille de Verdun du colonel Brébant (recto).jpg|{{lang|fr|On ne passe pas&nbsp;!}}, French medal for the [[Battle of Verdun]]
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 [[Battle of Cable Street]]
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 "{{lang|ro|Pe aci nu se trece - Mărășești 1917}}"
</gallery>

==See also==
{{wikisource|No Pasaran|Dolores Ibárruri's No Pasaran Speech}}
{{cols}}
* [[Awake iron!]]
* [[Molon labe]]
* [[Russian warship, go fuck yourself]]
* [[Order No. 227]] (Stalin's "Not one step back" order)
* [[Venceremos (song)|Venceremos]]
* [[Raised fist]]
* [[List of last stands]]
{{colend}}

==References==
{{reflist}}{{World War I}}
[[Category:Anti-fascism in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Communism]]
[[Category:English phrases]]
[[Category:Slogans]]
[[Category:Battle cries]]
[[Category:Battle of Verdun]]
[[Category:1916 quotations]]
[[Category:Political catchphrases]]