Call for Voluntary Removal of Wittenberg Judensau after Halle Synagogue Anti-Semitic attack?
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Monument protection for the anti-Semitic Wittenberg church relief?
Germany "Hate Speech"? Can anti-Semitic insults to churches be listed?
The assassinations of Halle, throw on the verdict of the LG Dessau Roßlau, an anti-Semitic Schmählief as part of the historic Wittenberg Castle Church with the means of defending the monument, a hard light. According to his decision, the 700 year old anti-Semitic relief of the community must not be removed.
A member of the Jewish community in Berlin had been bothering for some time with a jewel-hostile relief attached to the Wittenberg Castle Church - where Martin Luther had preached . The so-called relief is an expression and symbol of anti-Semitism deeply rooted in German state and church history. He asked the congregation and the city to remove the relief and complained after their refusal to remove the relief.
Medieval "Hate Speech" for over 700 years on the church wall
The stumbling block is the depiction of a large-sized sow shown on the relief with human children sucking on their teats. The children wear pointed hats, which they identify as Jews. At the back of the sow, the figure of a rabbi is shown, the sow under the tail and looks into the anus. In the relief is the Hebrew inscription "Schem Ha Mphoras" carved, this means something like "The special name" and is a Jewish description of the concept of God. The relief is located on the church wall for over 700 years and is thus part of the historic castle church, which is a listed building
Newly erected stele explains the historical context
In 1988, the congregation had a floor plate attached below the relief , which refers to the genocide of the Jews in the Third Reich. In mid-2017, a stele with German and English text was added, which explains the historical context of the sculpture and also refers to the anti-Semitism of Luther and the despicable persecution of Jews in Saxony.
Historical explanations do not eliminate the slander
Despite the attached historical references of the applicants saw in sculpture a insult to the Jews and the Jewish faith . Historical explanations of an insult lead in the opinion of the plaintiff not to their elimination.
Members of the Jewish religion would by the abusive image and even ridiculed today . A pig is an unclean animal according to the Jewish faith.
In the Middle Ages, such idolatrous images served to dissuade Jews from settling in a city. In the context of National Socialism, the term "Judensau" became socially acceptable as a result of such representations. Even today, such relief does not have any place in public space at a church.
Regional court emphasizes the historical character
This view met with the called LG only limited understanding. The court assessed the relief primarily from a historical point of view. A 700-year-old relief can not as a current manifestation of disrespect or disregard towards Jews in Germany are considered . The parish Wittenberg had by the attached historical explanations distanced clear from the content of the relief . The today's community can not be held responsible for the noxious content of the relief.
History is not easy to dispose of
History is history and can not be disposed of without further ado. It dwells on the relief a certain historical value and thus also a learning value for today's generations to. The church itself, through the appropriate historical explanations, has done what it can to make the insults of the Jewish religion associated with the relief clear as a past, unhappy history.
(LG Dessau Roßlau, judgment v. 24.5.2019, 2 O 230/18).
Background: Is Wittenberg stubborn?
Irmgard Schwaetzer , President of the Protestant Church in Germany, advised the Wittenberg church after the prevailing verdict to voluntarily remove the sculpture from the masonry and integrate it into an independent memorial, possibly in the vicinity of the church. Both the Protestant church and the city of Wittenberg have so far been unable to discern a willingness to do so, but obviously still discuss the subject.
How deep are anti-Semitic reflexes today?
The current anti-Semitic attacks in Halle throw a new light on the Wittenberg case. The motif "Judensau" was in the Middle Ages one of the most widespread abuses against Judaism.
Even today find themselves after a message of "domradio.de" on German soil at some 30 Protestant and Catholic churches in Germany corresponding illustrations, among other things, the 700 year old choir of Cologne Cathedral and a column capital in the cloister of the Duomo in Brandenburg on the Havel.
These depictions show how deep anti-Semitic reflexes are rooted in German history and, above all, in church history, and how little willingness exists today to finally eradicate such reflexes. Particularly paradoxical: The namesake of the Christian religion was never anything other than a Jew during his earthly life.
The case could go as far as the ECJ
The LG obviously had some doubts about the legal classification of the case. In particular, the question of what a church still has to do today to dissociate itself from historically long hate messages, looked at the court as a legal not yet clear. Therefore, the LG expressly allowed the appeal against the judgment.
The plaintiff has made use of the appeal . At the beginning of next year, negotiations will be held before the OLG Naumburg. The plaintiff has already announced, if necessary, to call the ECJ. But perhaps the Protestant church and the city of Wittenberg, under the impression of the events of Halle, will still inspire us. It would be a sign of the genuine desire for reconciliation of religions and solidarity.