Jew-Code, issued by Frederick William II, King of Prussia, for the City of Breslau (East Prussia) [Present-day Wroclaw, Poland]: “1. The Jewish community of Breslau shall have a cap of 160 patriarchs. The authorities shall determine these 160 out of the Jews already tolerated in Breslau, and each of the Jews thus protected shall pay between 50 and 200 thalers into the common purse, depending on their situation. 2. Each of these 160 Jews may let a son marry, and this son may apply for his father’s number upon the father’s death. A foreign Jewess may only be admitted for this purpose, if she brings a dowry of at least 3000 thalers. 7. Regarding those Jews who are already in Breslau, but are not members of the 160 families: they shall be tolerated, in exchange for a yearly payment. Their children, however, shall leave Breslau for good, at some point during their 16th year of age. 11. Every Jew tolerated in Breslau shall, within four weeks, choose a family name, and bestow this name unto his children, in the same manner as Christians. 12. All accounting books shall be kept in German writing; as of 1791, Hebrew will no longer be tolerated.” [Researcher’s note: The city of Wroclaw (Vratislavia) was officially named Breslau after it was ceded to Prussia in 1741; at the end of WWII, the city reverted to Poland, and its name to Wroclaw.]
“Vorschrift wie es mit dem Juden-Wesen in Breslau gehalten werden soll [Code Regarding the Jewdom in Breslau],” 5/21/1790; Decrees Collection; AR 379; Box 1; Folder 73; Leo Baeck Institute. Researched by Dominik Jacobs 12/10/2019