NPR

A German Jew Vows To Fight On To Remove Anti-Semitic Sculpture After Court Defeat

"This is a church, a holy place. You can't mix it with such a shameful assault on the Jews," plaintiff Michael Düllmann says of the medieval work portraying Jews with a pig.
An anti-Semitic sculpture from the Middle Ages is displayed at a church in Wittenberg, Germany. Courts have ruled that it can remain, but a German Jewish man is determined to get it removed.

A medieval sculpture of Jews engaged in obscene acts with a pig appears on the facade of a historical German church where Martin Luther preached. On Tuesday, a court rejected a Jewish man's efforts to remove the offensive sculpture.

The sculpture, in the eastern German city of Wittenberg, depicts a pig surrounded by a group of Jewish people, with some suckling at the animal's teats and one man looking under its tail. It's one of the most well-known examples of medieval folk art known as a Judensau — meaning Jews' sow — and is believed to date back to at least 1290.

Judge Volker Buchloh said the sculpture could remain because, on the ground beneath it, there is a memorial paying tribute to the 6 million Jews who died during the Holocaust. Buchloh said

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from NPR

NPR2 min read
The Louvre Museum Looks To Rehouse The 'Mona Lisa' In Its Own Room — Underground
Louvre Director Laurence des Cars said her institution is looking at upgrading both the visitor experience surrounding the iconic painting as well as the museum overall.
NPR4 min readInternational Relations
Bernie Sanders Says Netanyahu Is Attacking Campus Protests To Deflect War Criticism
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticized ongoing campus protests across the U.S. as antisemitic. The Vermont senator said it was an attempt to "deflect attention" from Israel's actions.
NPR5 min readWorld
Blinken Tells China It's In Their Interest To Stop Helping Russia
NPR's Steve Inskeep speaks with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken following his talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping and top Chinese officials in Beijing.

Related Books & Audiobooks