Racism in Poland

As in most countries, racism has existed in Poland in a variety of forms and to various extents over the course of its history. The Polish people themselves have been the victims of anti-Polish racism under the German Empire and during World War II.

Ethnic Poles

German warning in Nazi-occupied Poland 1939 - "No entrance for Poles!"

See also: Racial policy of Nazi Germany, Nazi crimes against the Polish nation, and Polish decrees

When part of Poland was under rule by German Empire, the Polish population was discriminated by policies influenced by racist thought that gained populartiy among German nationalists such as Volkisch movement, leading for example to "Expulsion of Poles by Germany".

During World War II, Poland was under German and Soviet occupation. During this period Polish people were harshly discriminated against in their own country. The Nazi German regime had seen Poles as "subhumans" (untermenschen) that were fit only for slavery and extermination. Most of the Nazis considered Poles, like the majority of other Slavs, as non-Aryan and non-European "masses from the East" which should be either totally annihilated along with the Jews and Gypsies, or entirely expelled from the European continent. Poles were the victims of Nazi crimes against humanity, and also the main non-Jewish victims of the Holocaust. Approximately 2.5 million ethnic Poles were exterminated during World War II. Polish slaves in Nazi Germany were forced to wear identifying red tags with "P"s sewn to their clothing; sexual relations with Germans (rassenschande or "racial defilement") were punishable by death. During the war, thousands of Polish men were executed for their relations with German women.

Poles were also the subject of ethnic cleansing during massacres of Poles in Volhynia and Eastern Galicia, then the territory of Poland.

Black Africans

The most common word in Polish for a black person is Murzyn. It is generally seen as a neutral word which was used for centuries to describe a person of Black African ancestry, but nowadays some consider it to have pejorative connotations.

One of the most high-profile events regarding blacks in Poland in recent years was the death of Maxwell Itoya in 2010. Itoya was a Nigerian killed in a police raid on a market in Warsaw. His death sparked a riot and mass arrests at the scene of Itoya's death. The event led to a widespread debate in the Polish media regarding policing and racism. There have been more cases of violence against blacks in recent years including attacks on soccer players and a well known weather presenter.

Jews

Main articles: History of the Jews in Poland and The Holocaust in Poland

Romani

Main article: Polska Roma

The Mława pogrom was a series of violent incidents in June 1991 when a rioting mob attacked Romani residents of the Polish town of Mława causing hundreds to flee in terror. The violence, described as motivated by racism and jealousy, was condemned by Polish and international media.

Arabs, Muslims, Syrians, Turks, Sikhs, Pakistanis, Indians and others

Due to refugee crisis, terrorist attacks in Western Europe and increase of nationalism in Poland, anti-arab, anti-muslim, anti-refugee, anti-foreigner, anti-immigrant and anti-eu sentiment is on the rise in Poland. Many arabs, muslims and darkskinned and foreign individuals including Kurds, Sikhs, Indians, Pakistanis Portuguese, Chechens Chileans, Japanese, Vietnamese, Ukrainians and Turks were assaulted and told to leave Poland after being accused of being Syrians/terrorists/refugees/arabs/muslims/nonwhite and foreigners. Internet hate speech inciting to violence and even genocide against refugees, muslims, ethnic and racial minorities in Poland is also on the rise.

Some Polish politicians also criticized Pope for his pro-refugee stance and suggested that muslims want to leech off welfare as refugees instead of staying in their own countries to fight, may endanger poles without a proper screening method, carry parasites and infectious diseases, are terrorists and security threat, will decapitate people in Poland, are human garbage, rapists, want to enforce sharia and no-go zones, and want to enslave polish women so Poland shouldn't take any Syrian refugees. Local governments of many polish cities refused to host any arab or african refugees because they are a threat to our culture and a way of life and accepting them would be a great mistake in the long term. Arab bar has been fired upon with a pistol and mosques have been vandalized. Many Poles think Arabs are fanatical terrorists who beat their wives. A PiS party member was disciplinary suspended for half a year for proposing to convert an old chimney into a fake minaret.

Anti-immigrant protests erupted in many polish cities

Attitudes towards minorities and level of tolerance

An analysis based on the European Values Survey (EVS) done in 2008 showed that compared to other European nations, Poland had very high levels of political tolerance (lack of extremist political attitudes), relatively high level of ethnic tolerance (based on attitudes towards Muslims, immigrants, people of another race, Roma, and Jews) and at the same time low levels of personal tolerance (based on attitudes towards people considered "deviant" or "threatening"). From 1998 to 2008, there was a marked increase in political and ethnic tolerance but a decrease in personal tolerance.

In terms of trends over time, at the beginning of the 1990s, due partly to the political euphoria accompanying the fall of Communism, Poland was the most tolerant nation in Central and Eastern Europe. Over the course of the nineties however, tolerance decreased so that by 1999 the country was recorded by the EVS as having one of the highest rates of xenophobia in Europe. Antisemitism increased during this time as well. The factors behind these decreases in tolerance and some of the radicalization in attitudes towards other ethnic groups during this time likely included the country's economic problems associated with a costly transition from communism (for example, high unemployment), ineffectual government, and possibly an increase in immigration from outside.

However, these attitudes began to change after 2000, possibly due to Poland's entry into the European Union, increased travel abroad and more frequent encounters with people of other races. By 2008 the EVS showed Poland as one of the least xenophobic countries in Central and Eastern Europe. The negative attitudes towards Jews have likewise returned to their lower 1990 level, although they do remain somewhat above the European average. During the same time period, ethnic tolerance and political tolerance increased in Southern Europe (Spain, Greece) and decreased in other parts of Northern Europe (Netherlands).

While the Roma were the group which was listed as most rejected, the level of exclusion was still lower than elsewhere in Europe, most likely due the long history of Roma (see Polska Roma) and their relatively low numbers in the country.

According to the European Jewish Congress while the number of anti-Semitic attacks and incidents of vandalism in Western Europe is on the rise, in Poland there has been a dramatic decrease in these.

According to the 2015 report by European Commission Against Racism and Intolerance, in Poland internet and media contains significant racist and xenophobic content targeting, in particular, Jews, Russians, Germans, Arabs and Muslims. In 2015 number of crimes motivated by racial, religious or ethnic hatred increased by 40% compared to the previous year. According to a Syrian refugee who studied in Poland, Poland is a champion of all time in racism, xenophobia, homophobia and white supremacy. In 16.06.2016 authorities of Białystok University of Technology told foreign student to not leave their dormitories due to ONR's demonstration on University's premises who according to the statement declare ideas of racism. In 27.04.2016 Polish Government decided to abolish Council Against Racial Discrimination and Xenophobia despite growing number of attacks and hostility against foreigners, minorities and suspected refugees in Poland which some compared to a witch-hunt. Some also blame ruling PiS party for inflaming anti-refugee and muslim sentiment and using it for their election campaign. There is on average one racial beating a week reported in Poland. Some refugees living in Poland are afraid to leave their homes due to racist and xenophobic violence and verbal abuse. According to a 2013 study by the Centre for Research on Prejudice 69% of poles is opposed to letting non-white people live in Poland. A group of 14 poles attempted to attack a refugee center in Sweden with axes, knives and iron rods.