Introduction

Poland—an almost uniformly Catholic and ethnically Polish country, which experienced a lengthy period of authoritarian rule in the post-WWII period has a reputation for being intolerant, anti-Semitic, and homophobic. For better or worse, this reputation is an important part of Poland’s country stereotype. Like all stereotypes, country stereotypes can be conceptualized as generalized beliefs that contain at least a kernel of truth (so one theory goes). Be that as it may, even if the stereotype is somewhat accurate in this case, this alone tells us little about the climate of tolerance and intolerance faced by minority groups and individuals in present-day Poland.