Dec. 8, 1774

Ordinance, issued by Carl I, Duke of Braunschweig and Lüneburg [Present-day Germany]: “Whereas beggar-Jews keep entering [Our lands], sometimes with whole families, by wagon, and are said to sometimes carry diseases that could lead to an epidemic, We hereby decree that from now on, nowhere shall any beggar-Jew be admitted to Our lands, and we order all civil servants in town and country, magistrates, and border agents, under severe penalty to be determined by Us, to enforce this exclusion strictly. If, however, any such riffraff should find opportunity to infiltrate, nobody is to give them shelter, but instead, all innkeepers and other subjects are to report them to the nearest official, who, with the help of the other residents, shall bring such Jews to court, where they will be sentenced to imprisonment or hard labor, depending on the circumstances of the case. This ordinance shall be published immediately in the regular places, as well as in all synagogues.”
“Serenissimi gnädigste Verordnung, das Einführen fremder Bettel-Juden betreffend [Most Serenely Merciful Ordinance, Regarding the Introduction of Foreign Beggar-Jews],” 12/8/1774; Decrees Collection; AR 379; Box 1; Folder 56; Leo Baeck Institute. Researched by Dominik Jacobs 12/5/2019