In the dispute over an abusive sculpture on the outer façade of the town church in Wittenberg, the Federal Government Commissioner for Anti-Semitism, Felix Klein, has called for the withdrawal of the Unesco World Heritage status. "The denigration of religions is incompatible with the basic principles of Unesco," Klein told Der Spiegel. Klein had repeatedly demanded that the depiction be removed.

"In 2019, the carnival in Aalst, Belgium, was removed from the World Heritage List because of anti-Semitic depictions," Klein said, according to Der Spiegel. Unesco should also remove Wittenberg from the list if the abusive sculpture sticks.

The medieval abusive sculpture of a "Jewish sow" carved in stone shows a sow on the south façade of the town church, on whose teats people drink who are supposed to represent Jews. A person depicted as a rabbi looks into the animal's anus. Pigs are considered unclean animals in Judaism. Such abusive sculptures were also attached to other churches in the Middle Ages. Among other things, they can still be seen today at Regensburg Cathedral. The connections and anti-Semitic backgrounds are explained and classified there, as in Wittenberg, on information boards.

In October 2022, following a ruling by the Federal Court of Justice, the parish church council in Wittenberg decided to leave the abusive sculpture on the outer façade and to further develop the already existing "site of admonition". A previously appointed panel of experts had voted in favour of acceptance. A decision by the Federal Constitutional Court on a complaint is still pending.

In mid-April, the Protestant parish had provided the memorial at the city church with an updated information board and set up three roll-ups in the church that provide information about Christian anti-Judaism, including the reformer Martin Luther and conspiracy theories.

The text on the information board was therefore supplemented by the request for forgiveness to "God and the Jewish people". It also states: "The Evangelical Church sees it as its responsibility to critically examine its part in the centuries-long history of violence against Jews and to actively stand up against anti-Judaism and anti-Semitism."