A Spanish village named Castrillo Matajudios (“Camp Kill Jews”) has officially changed its name back to Castrillo Mota de Judios (“Jews’ Hill Camp”) following a public referendum and approval by the regional government.
The village, which only has 50 residents, had already voted to change its name in 2014 due to concerns over “Camp Kill Jews” being offensive and a desire to honor the village’s Jewish heritage.
But the name change was not officially made until Monday. The new name is actually the original name of the village prior to 1627, when the name was changed to the controversial version.
The name Castrillo Matajudios evokes the painful history of Spanish Jews who were forced to convert to Christianity, flee, or be killed if they refused to convert following the 1492 Inquisition edict.
Experts believe that local converts from Judaism to Christianity adopted the controversial name in order to reinforce their repudiation of Judaism and avoid the suspicion that they were still practicing their original faith, the Associated Press reported.