The oldest historical sources proving the Jewish settlement in Poland dates from the X-XI century but it is claimed that Jews came to Polish ground much earlier. First Jews who visited the country on Vistula river in the period when the Polish nation was shaping, were merchants called Radanits, one of them was a traveller, merchant and diplomat from Toledo in Spain - Ibrahim Ibn Jakub in the year 965 or 966. In his notes he mentioned the city of Krakow and the first historic Duke of Poland, Mieszko I. But the author of these diaries was not the only Jew who travelled through Polish teritories. Some Jews settled in the Duchy permanently with whole families and made their livings out of commerce and craftsmanship.

In the ages of Christianization Jews banished from many countries as the victims of religious or social persecutions and intolerance looked for asylum and they found it in Poland. Polish kings and Dukes, Boleslaw the Pious (1221-1279) and Casmir the Great (1310-1370) (among others) appreciated their talents and granted them privileges and conditions for peaceful life and security for Jews, their communities and property. But after some time numerous privileges of Jewish societies caused the counter-action from the side of the church. There were some attempts to limit the developement of Jewish communities. In 1267 the Synod of Wroclaw tried to force the Jews to establish their own quarters, and isolate them from Christians and to wear special badges and also tried to forbid them to hold offices and build more than one synagogue in any particular town but none of these restrictions came into force.

In the Polish Kingdom until the partitions of the country by three superpowers: Russia, Prussia, the Empire of Austria and Hungary, Jews had their own autonomy and local government, what differed Poland from other European countries. They were strictly connected with Polish culture, morals and everyday life influencing it a lot but still cultivating their own customs, language and religion. Jews were an inseparable part of the cultural image of Poland, without which it's impossible to restore the life of Polish cottages, towns and cities.