In the case of an anti-Jewish sculpture at the city church Wittenberg, the anti-Semitism commissioner of the Federal Government has intervened. Felix Klein spoke in the newspapers of the editorial network Germany (RND) for removing the so-called Judensau relief.
In place of the relief, a billboard should be placed indicating that "the evangelical church is making a visible contribution to overcoming anti-Judaism and anti-Semitism by removing 'Judensau," said Klein. The relief belongs in his opinion "into the museum". There it should be "provided with an explanatory text".
In the so-called Judensau is an old Schmährelief that humble Jews and their religion. It shows a sow, sucking on the teats of people who are recognizable as Jews by contemporary clothing. Pigs are considered unclean in the Jewish faith. For the relief, its historical classification as well as dealing with it has been argued for decades.
There is currently a lawsuit pending by a member of the Jewish community against the church. The plaintiff wants to achieve that the relief is removed. The Dessau district court dismissed this in May, according to the report. In January, the dispute at the Higher Regional Court Naumburg is therefore in the second instance.
So-called Judensau motives are a form of the degradation of Jews that has been widespread in Christian Europe since the Middle Ages. They can be found today at several churches, including the famous Cologne Cathedral.
Wittenberg in Saxony-Anhalt is of particular importance as Lutherstadt. The theologian and church critic Martin Luther (1483-1546) lived, worked and preached there at the city church. In 1517 he published his famous 95 theses in Wittenberg. Luther's work laid the foundation for the emergence of the Protestant church. The open anti-Semitic attitude of the reformer has long been a controversial issue, the Protestant Church in Germany now dissociates itself clearly from its anti-Semitic statements.
