Sure. Jews have been living in Poland for at least 1000 years, for example.
Very very few if there were. Polish towns aren't mentioned at all and no known Gedolim lived in Poland until the era of the Achronim. Reb Yakov Pollak- the Baal Hachilukim- was probably the first known Gadol to live in Poland, hence his last name. Although I remember from visiting Krakow that they said that the
Old Synagogue dates back some 700 years. Most Ashkenazi Jews at the time lived to the west.
And as a matter of fact, a lot of Ashkenazi Jews lived in Italy too, in towns like Padova and Venice. The Mahri Mintz and Mharam Padva were the most prominent ashkenazi gedolim at the time who lived in Italy.