In 1850, the former Jewish quarter in Prague was incorporated into the city and was named Josefstadt (Joseph's city) in honor of Emperor Joseph II of the Austrian Empire which ruled over what is now the Czech Republic in the 18th century. Joseph II was an enlightened monarch who gave the Jews in Prague their civil rights in 1781 when he issued the Toleration Edict. This edict rescinded the old law that required the Jews to wear distinctive caps or the yellow Star of David on their clothing, a law which had been in effect since the 11th century.The edict also allowed the Jews to attend public schools with the Christians for the first time and to engage in occupations that had previously been forbidden. With permission from the authorities, the Jews could now live outside the walled ghetto, the area which is now called by the Czech name Josefov. The gates in the ghetto wall were removed by order of the Toleration Edict and the curfew was rescinded. The purpose of the edict was to create a strong centralized state in which all the people would be integrated into a single political and economic system, instead of having the Jews as a minority group in a separate state within a state.Ironically, Joseph II was also the monarch who, in 1780, ordered the construction of a military garrison at Theresienstadt, 60 kilometers northwest of Prague. From November 1941 until the war ended on May 8, 1945, the Nazis used Theresienstadt (now called Terezin) as a walled ghetto where the Jews once again had to wear the yellow star.
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