Despite Poland's current scant Jewish population, antisemitism persists and fulfills various important roles in Polish society. It is an informal tenet of Polish religiosity, enables Poles to view themselves as the main victims of the Nazis, enables them to deny their historic responsibility for anti-Jewish crimes, and provides a scapegoat for problems in the post-communist transition. Unlike other European societies, contemporary Polish antisemitism is not related to attitudes towards Israel. Furthermore, the political representation of those employing antisemitic rhetoric is very limited.Bilewicz, Michał, Mikołaj Winiewski, and Zuzanna Radzik. "Antisemitism in Poland: Psychological, Religious, and Historical Aspects." Journal for the Study of Antisemitism 4 (2016): 423-440., quote: Overall, the case of Poland is an example of the endurance of antisemitism without Jews—or at least with a scant Jewish population (Lendvai, 1971). This leads to an interesting question about the psychological reasons of such long-enduring prejudice without an object. Based on the research and observation of political and social life in Poland, one could say that antisemitism plays several important functions in contemporary Polish society: it is one of the informal tenets of religiosity in current Poland; it defines a scapegoat for the problems and troubles of the post-transition period; it allows the denial of responsibility for historical crimes toward Jews; and it supports perceiving the ingroup as the main victim of the Nazi occupation. These functions clearly allow antisemitism to exist—even without any significant Jewish presence in the country. At the same time, however, there is no link between such antisemitism and attitudes toward contemporary Israel. In this case, Polish society is far less anti-Jewish than many other European societies; in addition, the political representation of antisemitic prejudice is very limited—most politicians who were actively using antisemitic rhetoric are currently out of political life or at the margins of mainstream political debate One contemporary motif claimed to be antisemitic is the Jew with a coin picture, displayed in 18% of Polish homes to bring luck.
