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Jewish man vows to take medieval antisemitic church carving case to EU Court of Human Rights ‘if necessary’

The man recently lost an appeal in Germany to have the 13th century carving removed from a church wall in Wittenberg, Germany

February 10, 2020 12:03
A sculpted relief shows the controversial 'Judensau,' or 'Jew's Sow' on the facade of the 13th-century Stadtkirche Sankt Marien church in Wittenberg, Germany.

By

Aleks Phillips

1 min read

A Jewish man who launched a legal case to have an antisemitic carving removed from a German church wall has vowed to take the case all the way to EU Court of Human Rights, after losing a regional appeal.

The 13th century bas-relief, known as “Judensau” (Jews’ sow), sits on the side of the Stadtkirche in Wittenberg and depicts a rabbi looking under the tail of a sow, while another figure suckles on its teat from below.

Last week, a panel of judges at the Saxony-Anhalt state’s superior court rejected Michael Düllmann’s claim, finding the image “did not harm Jews’ reputation” because it was embedded in a wider memorial context.

The case had been brought after a lower court decided against Mr Düllmann’s claim.

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