Later, in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, freedom of religious practices was encoded in the Golden Liberty of 1575 and its Confederation of Warsaw Clause. Poland's Jewish citizens felt secure and a rich and vibrant Jewish culture emerged. Today, more than 70% of Ashkenazi, European Jewery, can trace their roots to Poland.

The Protestant Reformation brought about a decline in religious tolerance in the Polish Commonwealth but Poland's Jewish community was largely unaffected. It was after the repeated partitioning of the Commonwealth (1772-1795) and its complete disappearance from the map of Europe (1795) that Polish Jews were subjected to the discriminatory laws and pograms of the three occupying empires - Austria, Prussia, and Russia. While Jews faired better in the Austrian Partition, they were treated harshly in the Czarist Russian Partition. Alas, paradise was lost. Due to the events of World War II, from a prewar population of about 3.5 million there are less than 50,000 Jewish Polish citizens today.

For a map of Jewish population concentrations in the Polish Commonwealth, click here.