Lighting device (51, 52, 53) for a motor vehicle headlamp, which lighting device comprises: - an illuminating means which is arranged to emit light beams, the light beams being collimatable by at least one attachment optics arranged downstream of the illuminating means in the main radiation direction, - a polarizing beam splitter connected downstream of the at least one attachment optics, which splits the light beams collimated by the attachment optics into a first and a second linearly polarized beam path (310, 320), wherein the polarization directions of the beam paths (310, 320) are rotated 90° with respect to one another - a first polarization rotation means arranged to rotate the polarization direction of the second beam path by 90° so that the second beam path has the polarization direction of the first beam path - reflective means arranged to redirect the first beam path substantially in the direction of the second beam path modified by the first means for polarization rotation, - a single second means for polarization rotation connected downstream of said first means for polarization rotation and said reflective means, said second means for polarization rotation comprising at least one segment which can be set into an active and an inactive state by means of electrical signals, wherein the polarization of light beams can be rotated by 90° in the active state and does not undergo any change in the inactive state - a polarization filter means connected downstream of the second means for polarization rotation, which polarization filter means is arranged to transmit and block, respectively, the light beams rotated with respect to polarization by the second means for polarization rotation in the active and inactive state, respectively, and - at least one projection lens which is provided for generating a light distribution or a partial light distribution of a light function in front of a motor vehicle, the first means for polarization rotation is formed as a Fresnel parallelepiped, wherein an end face of the parallelepiped is mirrored, or the first means for polarization rotation is formed as two Fresnel parallelepipeds. - an illuminating means which is arranged to emit light beams, the light beams being collimatable by at least one attachment optics arranged downstream of the illuminating means in the main radiation direction, - a polarizing beam splitter connected downstream of the at least one attachment optics, which splits the light beams collimated by the attachment optics into a first and a second linearly polarized beam path (310, 320), wherein the polarization directions of the beam paths (310, 320) are rotated 90° with respect to one another - a first polarization rotation means arranged to rotate the polarization direction of the second beam path by 90° so that the second beam path has the polarization direction of the first beam path - reflective means arranged to redirect the first beam path substantially in the direction of the second beam path modified by the first means for polarization rotation, - a single second means for polarization rotation connected downstream of said first means for polarization rotation and said reflective means, said second means for polarization rotation comprising at least one segment which can be set into an active and an inactive state by means of electrical signals, wherein the polarization of light beams can be rotated by 90° in the active state and does not undergo any change in the inactive state - a polarization filter means connected downstream of the second means for polarization rotation, which polarization filter means is arranged to transmit and block, respectively, the light beams rotated with respect to polarization by the second means for polarization rotation in the active and inactive state, respectively, and - at least one projection lens which is provided for generating a light distribution or a partial light distribution of a light function in front of a motor vehicle,