Schadenfreude \SHOD-n-froy-duh\, noun:
A malicious satisfaction obtained from the misfortunes of others.
Schadenfreude comes from the German, from Schaden, "damage" + Freude, "joy." It is often capitalized, as it is in German.
The historian Peter Gay -- who felt Schadenfreude as a Jewish child in Nazi-era
-- Edward Rothstein, "Missing the Fun of a Minor Sin", New York Times, February 5, 2000