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"Judensau" relief on Regensburg Cathedral: bearable because it is historical?
Photo: Armin Weigel / dpa
A sometimes emotional anti-Semitism debate in Bavaria has come to an end for the time being: Historical anti-Jewish sculptures on churches should not be removed in the Free State.
The depiction of the so-called »Judensau« on churches and buildings must be classified »visibly and clearly«, said Bavaria's anti-Semitism commissioner Ludwig Spaenle (CSU) when this decision was announced in Munich.
The regional association of the Jewish religious communities, representatives of the Christian churches and state institutions had previously discussed how to deal with depictions of »Judensau«.
There are around a dozen such sculptures in Bavaria, including those on the famous Regensburg Cathedral.
Unanimous vote against dismantling
The controversial sculptures are mostly anti-Jewish sculptures from the Middle Ages in the form of gargoyles, carvings or reliefs.
The topic had received a lot of attention at the beginning of the year because a Jew from the Rhineland had gone to court against such a "Judensau" at the former preaching church of Martin Luther in Wittenberg.
The plaintiff argues that as a person of Jewish faith he is constantly insulted as a "Jewish pig" by such sculptures.
He demands that the plastic be removed from the church and put in a museum, for example.
The opposite side, however, stated that it was a historical testimony at the original location, which was classified, among other things, by a memorial stele.
Several courts followed this line of argument, the man announced that he would go through all instances (you can find out more about this legal dispute here).
In Bavaria, the round table now voted unanimously against dismantling, as the anti-Semitism commissioner Spaenle said.
If the sculptures were taken out of context, an explanation would be difficult.
In addition, the representations could then no longer fulfill their warning function.
Instead, in the future, all those involved should deal with the humiliating figures on site.
For each object, the spiritual, cultural and church-historical context must be explained and more detailed information made available, for example via a QR code.
Icon: The mirror
mxw / dpa