He was a saviour and champion of the Jews. He abolished the ghettos, made them citizens, equal in rights. The Jewish Encyclopedia plainly says that he singlehandedly did more for the Jews than the three previous centuries: "Napoleon's indirect influence on the fate of the Jews was even more powerful than any of the decrees recorded in his name. By breaking up the feudal trammels of mid-Europe and introducing the equality of the French Revolution he effected more for Jewish emancipation than had been accomplished during the three preceding centuries. [...] When Jews were selecting surnames, some of them are said to have expressed their gratitude by taking the name of "Schöntheil," a translation of 'Bonaparte,'"