Similarities Between the Forms of Anti-Jewish and Anti-Roma Violence in Present-Day Poland

The Roma minority is discriminated against in most European countries; also in some Western countries, where the Roma have immigrated recently. They are often attacked by gangs of skinheads, neo-Nazis and radical rightists. In the post-communist countries, they are not only discriminated against, but also segregated. Their physical security is poorly protected. Most of the attackers are trained not only in anti-Roma racism, but in anti-semitism as well. Anti-semitic prejudice has something in common with the prejudices held against the Roma. This paper shows historical links between the two phenomenon and structural similarities between violence against Jews and Roma. The author tries to answer the question why contemporary European public opinion, so sensitive to anti-Jewish discrimination, so easily closes its eyes when the Roma are deported, surrounded by a wall, beaten or even killed.