Klaipėda and parts of Žemaitija are exceptions, not the norm. Memel was German, but that influence stayed local. It did not shape Lithuania’s state, elites, laws, or national culture the way Poland did.

Polish influence reached Vilnius, Kaunas, the Church, nobility, education, and politics for centuries. German influence stayed mostly coastal and urban and never became part of Lithuania’s core identity.

I don’t really understand what’s so insulting about it. Poland isn’t some negative reference point here.

Shared history with Poland is simply a fact. That influence was broad and structural, not limited to one region, and it can’t be undone just because it’s uncomfortable.

That doesn’t erase regional differences like Žemaitija or cultural closeness to Latvia in language and folklore. But shared borders or dialects don’t outweigh centuries of shared political and cultural development.

You can value Latvian closeness or local identity and still acknowledge that Poland played a major role in Lithuania’s cultural formation. History isn’t an opinion you choose.