“Judensau” at the Regensburg Cathedral is re-labeled
The so-called “Judensau” at the Regensburg Cathedral of St. Peter. Dealing with abusive plastic has been controversial for many years
Source: dpa
There are dozen anti-Jewish portraits on historical buildings nationwide, mostly from the Middle Ages. Should these representations be preserved? A solution has now been found for the so-called “Judensau” at Regensburg Cathedral.
ERemove or not? The handling of the so-called Judensau at Regensburg Cathedral has been controversial for many years. Now the anti-Semitism commissioner for Bavaria, Ludwig Spaenle, and the chairwoman of the Jewish community in Regensburg, Ilse Danziger, have presented a solution.
The anti-Jewish depiction from the Middle Ages should not be removed, but re-labeled. In this way, the abusive sculpture could also be understood as a memorial against anti-Semitism, said Ilse Danziger on Friday.
In principle, a responsible approach must be found for dealing with anti-Jewish depictions, said Spaenle. They shouldn’t remain uncommented, but neither should they be removed in a kind of “iconoclasm”.
Spaenle does not consider the suggestion to exhibit the portraits in a museum instead. It is downright grotesque to remove the figure from the original location in order to then highlight it in a showcase.
In the case of the “Judensau” at Regensburg Cathedral, representatives of the church, politics and building authorities had agreed to renew the existing information board. This is hardly recognizable on the stone walls of the cathedral and the text is outdated in terms of content, said Spaenle. Josef Schuster, President of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, was also involved in the dialogue.
Broad consensus in favor of maintaining the figure
According to Danziger, there is broad consensus within the Jewish community in Regensburg to keep the figure. Especially at a time when anti-Semitism is becoming socially acceptable again, it is important to show that anti-Semitism has always existed and that it must be countered.
The new board will explain and classify the motif of the “Judensau”. It shows Jewish men suckling the teats of a sow like piglets. According to the text, this portrayal caused disgust and contempt for Jews and wanted to denigrate Judaism. It was alleged that Jews were in league with the devil and were nourished by him. Further: “Today this sculpture is intended to warn all people to take action against any form of propaganda, hatred, exclusion and anti-Semitism.”
The text was written in collaboration with Eva Haverkamp-Rott, professor at the chair for Jewish history at the Ludwig Maximilians University (LMU) in Munich.
In addition to the board, extensive information material is to be made available digitally, according to Spaenle. It is also being considered to create information leaflets and include the topic in the training of city guides.
Ilse Danziger, chairwoman of the Jewish community in Regensburg, stands next to a plan with the Regensburg Cathedral
Source: dpa
There are several dozen anti-Jewish representations nationwide. The anti-Semitism officer referred to a case in Wittenberg. A Jewish citizen there has been trying to legally remove a “Judensau” from the city church for years. The Federal Court of Justice (BGH) will deal with it in the spring.
The higher regional court in Naumburg had the lower instance decidedthat the anti-Jewish relief does not have to be removed.
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