It is fair to say that Fremdschämen is not a unique German creation, as it does have an equivalent in English: second hand embarrassment. However, it is a good example on why our German word creations are awesome. While the English speakers have to make a whole phrase out of three words to describe a very common emotion, we just smash two words together and call it a day.
In preparation of this post I read some of my old diaries from the past 20 years. While my younger self was a bit naïve sometimes, I actually did not experience a lot of Fremdschämen. More like second hand envy. I had a lot of weird adventures, just by allowing myself to stumble into all kinds of situations. I also was quite a bitch sometimes. I'm not sorry. Having said that, I now have another reason to write a will, just to make sure my diaries get burned after my death.