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Sunday, October 11, 2020
A community in Ulm decimates its occupation of cribs. Because the wooden figure of Melchior carries racist stereotypes, according to the dean. An initiative of those affected expresses their approval, the diocese is left speechless. And the Catholic Church has an even more controversial custom reserved.
Gaspar, Melchior and Balthasar belong to the Christmas story as shepherds, as angels, as ox and donkey. But is that correct? Ever since a Protestant parish in Ulm wanted to banish the Magi from their nativity scene as a precautionary measure due to racist characteristics, there has been a debate about how the wise men of the East should be represented today. Even if Christmas is still a long way off.
“From today’s perspective, the wooden figure of Melchior with his thick lips and deformed stature is clearly racist,” explains the dean of the Protestant community in Münster, Ernst-Wilhelm Gohl. According to Gohl, community members described the figure as “disgusting and racist.” “You told us,” This representation degrades me as a black Christian, “Gohl said. The community cannot and does not want to leave this situation.
But the decision caused a sensation. Although there is also a discussion in the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising, from the Diocese of Passau it is said: “At first, this issue left us speechless.” Opinions differ. The spokesman for the diocese of Regensburg, Clemens Neck, cannot understand the decision. “It is clear that the representation of King Melchior as a black person has nothing in common with racist thinking.
“Don’t bend the story”
The “Passauer Neue Presse” published a special page on Friday with letters from outraged readers: “Nonsense to perfection” and “ridiculous to kneel before an alleged public opinion. The Black People Initiative in Germany, on the other hand, found the decision to be correct. “It shows that there is now a more consistent approach to racism,” says spokesperson Tahir Della. “I see responsible political leaders.” With a view to the basic values of society, they must also make decisions that are not immediately supported by the majority.
Jürgen Bärsch, vice dean of the Faculty of Theology at the Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt, speaks of a “very heterogeneous situation”. “In the case of Ulm, it is very surprising that stereotypes are used that are problematic.” It is true that it is an older representation that must be seen in the context of its time. “But in this discussion you have to keep in mind that today we have a different sensibility, especially due to the current debate on racism in the United States.” The art historian Stephan Hoppe of the Ludwig Maximilians University in Munich is fundamentally critical of interventions in art. “You can add something to the story and comment on it. But you can’t twist the story as you’d like.”
For Heinrich Bedford-Strohm, president of the Council of the Protestant Church in Germany, the Magi are above all “part of the fascination of the Christmas story.” “For me it is crucial whether the representation of different skin colors implicitly or explicitly implies different values,” says the regional bishop of Bavaria. “The Three Wise Men are about high-ranking personalities who come to the manger together with the poor shepherds. Different values are not attributed here. On the contrary.”
Carol singers also offer possibilities for conflict
But the debate is not just about the representation of kings in mangers. “There is a similar discussion regarding the singing of stars,” says Bärsch. “Is it appropriate for one of the Christmas carols to be painted black?” In Germany, around the Epiphany on January 6, around 300,000 Christmas Carol singers go from house to house to collect donations. Dreikönigssingen’s campaign sponsors, Kindermissionswerk and Bund der Deutschen Katholischen Jugend, recommend that children stop wearing black makeup.
The practice has nothing to do with racist blackfacing, it says on the Mission’s website. It goes back to the fact that Caspar, Melchior, and Balthasar represented the three previously known continents Asia, Africa, and Europe. The black king represents Africa. “However, the equation of skin color and origin no longer works. We believe that the original meaning of the tradition becomes clearer when children sing Christmas carols as they are: diverse in appearance.”
However, the final word on how to deal with the crib figures has yet to be said in Ulm. The community wants to make the final decision “in stride” in the New Year, says Dean Gohl. He could imagine that the figure would still be displayed, but with ratings and explanations.
