With the Peace of Westphalia, which ended the Thirty Years’ War in 1648, the diocese of Halberstadt lost its independence and became part of Brandenburg-Prussia. In 1650, the Great Elector Friedrich Wilhelm issued a general decree for the Jews of Halberstadt, allowing them to trade and “slaughter in their own way”, i.e. to butcher. The Jewish community acquired land for the Jewish cemetery “Am Roten Strumpf”.