George of Poděbrady. The village was then resettled during the 16th century by mostly German-speaking colonists. In the 18th century, the first artificial jewellery was produced and the first exporter, J. F. Schwan, spread the town's name throughout Europe. The village of Gablonz was declared a market town by Emperor Francis II on 21 April 1808 and was given town status by Emperor Franz Joseph I on 28 March 1866. In the 19th century, the town became prosperous and wealthy, as Gablonz traders seized the foreign markets. A steady supply of a wide range of glass and artificial jewellery products flowed out of the town. This industrial advancement also improved the quality of life, and Jablonec's appearance changed dramatically. Historian Peter Hinks, writing about the various types of Late Victorian jewellery sold by British and American companies at the turn of the 20th century, noted that "The Bohemian garnet jewellery sold by Moore and Evans [in Chicago] was the product of an industry based in the town of Gablonz, now Jablonec. These very effective jewels were set with locally mined garnets, rose cut and set in gold mounts of very formal design.". However, the worldwide economic crisis resulting from the Wall Street Crash of 1929 damaged the glass and jewellery industry and the crisis of the 1930s with its unemployment and hunger led to great support of Nazis. In October 1938, Gablonz was occupied by Nazi Germany after the Munich Agreement, and was administered as a part of Reichsgau Sudetenland until 1945. Before 1938, the population of Gablonz was composed of 86% German inhabitants, and the rest Czechs, Jews and many other groups. In autumn 1938, most of the Jews, Czechs and anti-Nazi Germans escaped to other parts of Czechoslovakia and the Jewish synagogue was burned down. In May 1945, the town was liberated by the underground anti-Nazi groups together with some 700 French and Italian soldiers who were captives in Gablonz's camps. Between 1945 and 1949, most of the Germans were expelled under the terms of Beneš decrees. However, a few thousand Germans who were active in struggle against the Nazi rule, Germans who had married Czechs, and Germans with special permits were allowed to stay home in Gablonz. Despite assimilation and emigration to Germany in 1968, the German minority in Gablonz still exists (there are some 1,000–2,000 in the town). Except for original Czech and Jewish Gablonz residents