The proportion of Poles who dislike Jews has risen to 40%, according to the findings of the Polish state research Centre for Public Opinion Research (CBOS).
The poll has been carried out annually since 1993, and questions Poles on whether they like or dislike certain national and ethnic groups (21 in total).
CBOS found that the proportion of Poles saying they dislike Jews (40%) and Americans (18%) rose eight percentage points in both cases since last year, more than for any other group. This was followed by a dislike of Ukrainians, which rose by 5 percent to 43%.
Nevertheless, Russians, Belarusians and Roma people are still the most disliked national and ethnic groups in Poland. The most popular were Italians, Czechs and Slovaks, in that order.
Americans used to be the most popular ethnic group in 2023, but now take 5th place. The number of those with positive opinions of Jews is at its lowest since 2006, at just 22%.
The survey found that, for the third year in a row, the attitude of Poles towards nations that they see as having gained after the outbreak of the war in Ukraine – Americans, English and Ukrainians – has again been deteriorating.
“Since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, Poles have been the most negative toward Russians: 74% of respondents express dislike, while only 7% report sympathy,” the CBOS report said.
Polish media have noted that the CBOS report shows that Poles are becoming more distrustful of other nations, and that their sympathy for their neighboring countries is also decreasing.
“Comparing the results from 2023 and 2026, we notice that the national sympathies of Poles are no longer-lasting and obvious. They are increasingly becoming dependent on current political events and narratives present in the public debate,” CBOS concluded.