They shall not pass

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"They shall not pass" (French: "Ils ne passeront pas"; Spanish: "¡No pasarán!"; Catalan: "No passaran!"; German: "Sie kommen nicht durch!"; Romanian: "Pe aici nu se trece!") is a propaganda slogan used to express determination to defend a position against an enemy. It was most famously used during the Battle of Verdun in World War I by French General Robert Nivelle (although some have attributed it to his commander, Philippe Pétain). It appears on propaganda posters, such as that by Maurice Neumont after the Second Battle of the Marne, which was later adopted on uniform badges by units manning the Maginot Line. Later during the war, it also was used by Romanian soldiers during the Battle of Mărăşeşti.

It was again used in the Siege of Madrid during the Spanish Civil War by Dolores Ibárruri Gómez in her famous "No Pasarán" speech on 18 July 1936. "¡No pasarán!" became an international anti-fascist slogan (used by British protestors during the October 1936 Battle of Cable Street, for example), and is still used in this context in left wing political circles. It was often accompanied by the word pasaremos (we will pass). The right wing riposte to this slogan was "Hemos pasado" ("We have passed") said by general Francisco Franco when his forces conquered Madrid.

The phrase has been used as recently as December 2002 by Colonel Emmanual Maurin, commanding a French Foreign Legion unit in Côte d'Ivoire.

[edit] Use in popular culture

Christy Moore's version of the song "Viva la Quince Brigada" includes the line : "No pasarán: the pledge that made them fight," referring to Irish International Brigade members fighting in Spain during the Spanish Civil War.

A slight variation was used in J. R. R. Tolkien's novel, The Lord of the Rings. In the novel, Gandalf, when confronting the Balrog in the Mines of Moria, tells it, "You cannot pass." In Peter Jackson's film adaptation, the line is "You shall not pass". Tolkien himself fought on the Western Front, although not at Verdun.

An episode of Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. has used this phrase for an episode title (4 December 1964).

This saying was also quoted in Chapter 14 of David Weber and Steve White's In Death Ground, just before executing a plan named for Leonidas in defending the Sarasota System.

The final book in Lucy Maud Montgomery's series about Anne of Green Gables, Rilla of Ingleside, describes a young woman's life on the Canadian home front during World War I, and uses the phrase for a chapter title.

The saying was taken to ridiculous effect by Monty Python in the "Black Knight" sequence of Monty Python and the Holy Grail, although the Black Knight actually says, "None shall pass".

In the comic book Asterix in Spain, Pepe, son of Chief Huevos Y Bacon, paraphrases these words to Julius Caesar as the Romans approach his village.

Vittorio Giardino's Max Friedman series has a two-part book series titled No Pasaran! The story is set in Spain during the Spanish Civil War.

Characters in Umberto Eco's novel Foucault's Pendulum also used the phrase.

In the 1982 movie Frances, Jessica Lange's character uses the phrase.

The phrase is also quoted in Max Brooks' book World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War, used by a French soldier clearing the Paris sewers of zombies.

In Ian McEwan's novel Saturday the character Jay Strauss says, "No pasaran!" on page 114.

In Per Petterson's novel To Siberia the character Jesper tells the townspeople "No pasaran, they shall not pass!" as news of the German's arrival spreads (p. 112).

The Stone Roses' record "Sally Cinnamon" has it etched into the run out groove, the first of many links between Pablo Picasso and the Spanish Civil War.

The Polish band Blade Loki has a song (and related music video) entitled No Pasaran.

The Bosnian bend Emir and Frozen Camels made an album titled "No Pasaran" in 2009.

[edit] See also

• Order No. 227 (Stalin's "Not one step back" order)
• Molon labe