Save A court is to decide the fate of an antisemitic medieval “Jew’s sow” carving on the façade of the church of Martin Luther after a Jewish campaigner sued for its removal. Dating from 1305, the “Judensau” at St Mary’s in Wittenberg depicts a Rabbi holding up the tail of a large pig to inspect its rear while two Jewish children suckle underneath it. The sandstone relief is one of many similar antisemitic images installed at German churches during the Middle Ages. Michael Düllmann, who brought the complaint, has called for the carving to be removed and displayed in a museum Michael Düllmann, who brought the complaint, has called for the carving to be removed and displayed in a museum HENDRIK SCHMI/ALAMY Councillors at the town in eastern Germany voted last summer to retain the carving after a petition to remove it gained more than 5,000 signatures. The court case, which has been referred to the Saxony-Anhalt state court, was brought by Michael Düllmann, a member of a synagogue in Berlin. Mr Düllmann said Jews were degraded by the carving, and proposed that it be sent to a museum where it could be viewed with explanations of its origins. The church and the town argued that the carving should stay as a reminder of historical prejudice of the kind that led to the Holocaust, which is also commemorated at the church. Johannes Block, pastor at St Mary’s, said the church was “appalled and affected” by this part of its heritage. “We must weigh up how to treat this history,” he said. “So far we are convinced: we should show history, not hide history, and deal with the negative so that something positive comes of it.”