The two nations have had historically close relations for several hundred years, owing to frequent migrations in both directions, substantial cultural exchange and extensive trade, cemented by the Polish role in the liberation of the Netherlands from Nazi German occupation during World War II.

[4] The so-called Old Dutch style of bastion fortifications became popular in Poland in the late 16th and early 17th centuries, applied in various cities including Gdańsk, Toruń, Zamość, Łańcut, Elbląg, Królewiec, Brody and Żółkiew,[4] with Polish military engineer Adam Freytag, who took part in the war on the Dutch side, including the Siege of 's-Hertogenbosch, becoming the author of the first manual of such fortifications.

[12] From the 15th and 16th centuries, Dordrecht joined Amsterdam and Rotterdam as one of the Dutch centers for trade with Poland, and merchants from the inland major Polish cities like Kraków and Toruń also reached the Netherlands.

[16] Also the port city of Królewiec acted as an intermediary in maritime trade between Poland and the Netherlands, with its 17th-century stock exchange including a painting depicting a townswoman buying goods from a Pole and a Dutchman, embracing the notion that the city's prosperity was based on trade with the East and West, particularly Poland and the Netherlands.

Nonetheless, Polish immigrants fleeing persecution in Russia, Austria and Prussia got supported in the Netherlands and sometimes settled there.

In the late 18th century, some Dutch Mennonites settled near the cities of Lwów and Gródek Jagielloński in the Austrian Partition of Poland.

[21] The Dutch company Philips has launched an electric lamp factory and a scientific research laboratory in Poland.

[26] Dutch people, alongside Poles and other nationals, were also among the prisoners of the particularly notorious Nazi German camps in Żabikowo, Miłoszyce, Brzeg Dolny, Świecko and Słońsk.

[27][28][29][30] The 1st Polish Armoured Division joined as part of the Allies led by the United Kingdom participated in Dutch liberation war against Nazis, and was praised for its valiant efforts on its fight to free both Poland and the Netherlands.