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.
Speaking to NPR after losing the appeal, Mr Düllmann said: “The whole issue is not over yet. This is a church, a holy place. You can't mix it with such a shameful assault on the Jews.”
“We will appeal to the highest civil court in Germany, the Federal Court of Justice in Karlsruhe,” he added. “Then we will go further to the Constitutional Court, then, if necessary, to the EU court for human rights in Strasbourg.”
According to the report, Mr Düllmann believes the statue should be put in the Luther House museum in Wittenberg, instead of being displayed on the church wall.
