During the 14th to 16th centuries, Jews in Poland enjoyed relative prosperity and tolerance, earning that period the nickname "Paradisus Judaeorum" (Jewish Paradise). However, the 17th century saw growing antisemitism in Poland, exacerbated by King Sigismund III's pro-Catholic policies and the violent Cossack Khmelnytsky Uprising, during which 100,000 Jews were killed. Over the next decades, Jewish communities in Poland faced mob violence, pogroms, and systematic restrictions. Despite these challenges, Poland remained a haven for Jews until the nation's partitions in 1795.
In the 19th century, Russian imperial policies worsened Jewish-Polish relations, and anti-Jewish sentiments persisted even after Poland regained independence in the aftermath of World War I, (for example through restrictions on education, known as numerus clausus). During the Holocaust, while some Poles helped Jews, others persecuted them, most infamously in the 1941 Jedwabne pogrom. Anti-Jewish violence continued post-war, with another infamous pogrom occurring in Kielce in 1946. This trend culminated in the mass emigration of Jews during the 1968 Communist purges.
After the fall of communism in 1989, Poland began openly addressing its history of antisemitism. Incidents, such as the 2006 attack on Poland's chief rabbi Michael Schudrich and the 2023 Hanukkah menorah extinguishing in parliament, highlight ongoing challenges.