Anti-Lithuanian sentiment (sometimes known as Lithuanophobia)Wittig-Marcinkevičiūtė, E. "Europiečių dilema (II)" [The European Dilemma (II)] (in Lithuanian). TV3. Archived from original on 23 March 2013. Retrieved on 26 May 2023. is the hostility, prejudice, discrimination, distrust, racism or xenophobia directed against the Lithuanian people, Lithuania or Lithuanian culture. It may also include persecution, oppression or expulsion of Lithuanians as an ethnic group.
By country
Belarus Some Belarusian academics are known for engaging in historical negationism and trying to culturally appropriate Lithuanian culture, national identity and history of statehood by arguing that the Belarusian word litoutsy (літоўцы), meaning ‘Lithuanian’, historically refers to modern Belarusians instead whereas present-day Lithuanians are pretenders who should actually be identified as letuvisy (летувicы) and are accused of stealing their ethnonym as well as the historic name of their homeland.Vyžintas, Arūnas (10 March 2018). "Istorinės savimonės kuriozai arba ką iš tikrųjų švenčiame?" [The oddities of historical self-awareness or what are we actually celebrating?] (in Lithuanian). Delfi. Retrieved on 26 May 2023.Gudavičius, Edvardas (1996). Following the Tracks of a Myth. Lithuanian Historical Studies. Lithuanian Institute of History. p. 38. Retrieved 13 August 2023. Some Belarusian scholars consider the statehood of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania to be primordially Slavic, rejecting the notion that its origins come from Baltic Lithuanian tribes. Historian Mikola Yermalovich claimed that King Mindaugas was Belarusian whereas the epicentre of historic Lithuania was actually in central and southern Belarusian lands.Kamuntavičius, Rūstis. (2012). Lietuvisai ir licvinai: naujos senos gudų istoriografijos paieškos ['Letuvisy' and 'Litsviny': The New and Old Searches of Belarusian Historiography] (in Lithuanian). Vytautas Magnus University. p. 336.
During the Belarusian opposition protests in 2021, a Lithuanian woman was arrested and beaten up by Belarusian OMON forces after they found out she was a Lithuanian citizen.Šapokas, Edvardas (18 January 2021). "Baltarusijoje sumušta Lietuvos pilietė papasakojo apie patirtą siaubą: pamatę lietuvišką pasą talžė dar stipriau" [Lithuanian citizen beaten in Belarus talks about her experienced horror: after seeing my Lithuanian passport, they beat me even harder] (in Lithuanian). LRT. Retrieved on 26 May 2023.
Belgium In 2023, statistics from the previous year alone indicated that a significant number of Lithuanians were exploited or faced discrimination at work in Belgium with Federal Public Service Employment getting around 400 complaints: 168 of cases were from Lithuanians who did not receive their paycheck or it got delayed whereas 234 of them received smaller payments than their coworkers for the same work because of their background. There were also accounts of Lithuanians facing racist or humiliating comments such as being called ‘dirty’, ‘Eastern European’ or noted as coming ‘from the Soviet Union’ in their certificate of employment."Lietuviai Belgijoje susiduria su darbdavių išnaudojimu: jų į tarnybas vien pernai kreipėsi apie 400" [Lithuanians in Belgium face exploitation by their employers: around 400 of them reached out to services] (in Lithuanian). LRT. 21 May 2023. Retrieved on 28 May 2023."„O, purvini lietuviai atvažiavo“ – bene dešimtmetį Belgijoje dirbęs Jonas šiandien į šios šalies pusę nė žiūrėti nenori" ['Oh, dirty Lithuanians have arrived' — after working for a decade in Belgium, Jonas today has no desire to even look towards this country] (in Lithuanian). LRT. 21 May 2023. Retrieved on 18 June 2023.
Ireland In 2007, a scandal began to surface as it emerged that some Irish schools forbid Lithuanian children from using their native tongue. There was a reported case of Lithuanian girls suffering physical abuse because they were considered to be more attractive than their Irish peers. Inspector for Children’s Rights Rimantė Šalaševičiūtė stated that “Lithuanian children are feeling unsafe and face discrimination” and concluded that Lithuanian and Irish children were not being treated as equals."Lietuvių vaikams Airijoje draudžiama kalbėtis lietuviškai" [Lithuanian children in Ireland are forbidden from speaking in Lithuanian] (in Lithuanian). TV3. 6 June 2007. Retrieved on 28 May 2023. In 2008, three Lithuanian men were beaten up because of their nationality by bouncers who claimed that people like them are not welcomed.Vindžigalskis, Paulius (1 August 2008). "Airijoje dirbantis lietuvis: buvau sumuštas vien dėl savo tautybės" [A Lithuanian working in Ireland: I was beaten up solely because of my nationality] (in Lithuanian). TV3. Retrieved on 28 May 2023.
Germany After the creation of the German Empire in 1871, the population of Prussian Lithuanians in East Prussia started to decline even further due to Germanisation. Many Lithuanians who wanted a better life were forced to adopt German culture and eventually abandoned their native tongue. In Prussian governance and within the clergy, German colonists were regarded as the emissaries of "the chosen people" tasked with the mission of Germanizing the Lithuanians as well as other ethnic groups. Prominent officials consistently underscored national disparities in their writings, characterizing the Lithuanian peasantry as belonging to an inferior human race predestined to serve the Germans as their slaves.Lietuvos TSR mokslų akademijos darbai. Serija A [Proceedings of the Academy of Sciences of the Lithuanian SSR. Series A] (in Lithuanian and Russian). Lithuanian State Publishing House of Political and Scientific Literature, 1975, p. 113. Retrieved on 27 September 2023. They also believed their culture being superior to Lithuanian culture whereas the nation itself was considered to be politically inept. In 1916, a German science publication Der Koloss aut fonernen Fusen in Munich wrote:[T]he Lithuanian himself has a tendency to superior German culture and by taking this path, he can become a loyal citizen of the Reich. [...] those who think that a Lithuanian is already mature enough for even the most primitive form of self-governance are deeply mistaken.Liekis, Algimantas (17 January 2019). "Prūsų – lietuvių žemių susigrąžinimo viltis Lietuvai" [The hope of returning Prussian–Lithuanian lands to Lithuania] (in Lithuanian). Alkas.lt. Retrieved on 26 May 2023.During World War II, in accordance with Generalplan Ost, the Nazis planned to commit a mass-scale genocide of Lithuanians — 85% were to be physically exterminated, which was the second-highest percentage of planned killings of an ethnic group in German-occupied Europe only to be surpassed by Latgalians.Misiūnas, R. J. The Baltic States, years of dependence, 1940-1990. Internet Archive. pp 48–49.
Latvia Historically, Lithuanians in Latvia were called leiši, which apart from its primary meaning was also used to refer to someone who is negligent, lazy, uneducated and illiterate. Following Latvia’s declaration of independence, this term was soon replaced by a neologism lietuvieši due to its negative connotations and official complaints from the Lithuanian Government regarding the designation of the nationality of their compatriots in Latvian passports. Philologist Aistė Brusokaitė suggests that Latvians were the first ones to call Lithuanians zirga galva, meaning 'horse head', which was later adopted as an insult by Lithuanians themselves:Since Latvians were economically more well off than Lithuanians, Latvians that lived by the border used to take young Lithuanian workmen to serve on their farms to do all the dirty work. Latvians were Lutherans and Lutherans always paid more attention to education. Because of this, Latvians were more educated than Lithuanians, which is why less educated, illiterate Lithuanians were sometimes looked down upon and called ‘zirga galva’.Antanavičius, Ugnius (28 April 2019). "Kodėl kai kurie lietuviai latvius vadina „žirgo galvomis“?" [Why do some Lithuanians call Latvians 'horse-heads'?]. (in Lithuanian). 15min. Retrieved on 28 May 2023.Before World War II, the Government of Latvia closed Lithuanian organisations and schools, which contributed to many Lithuanians fleeing the country as they could no longer ensure proper education for their children. In the 1950s and 60s, however, economically struggling Lithuanians were once again resettling in Latvia where they faced some degree of discrimination from the locals who did not consider them to be equal or trustworthy. There were reported cases of inciting tensions and insults directed at the Lithuanian people as well as children bullied at school for having Lithuanian parents.Merkienė, Regina Irena. Latvijos lietuviai etninėje ir kultūrinėje konvergencijoje [Latvian Lithuanians in Ethnic and Cultural Convergence] (in Lithuanian). Lithuanian Institute of History. pp. 123–130. Retrieved on 28 May 2023.
Poland
History
Middle Ages and Early Modern Period The earliest depiction of Lithuanians, found in the few sources dating back to the 13th century, is decidedly negative. They were portrayed as semi-wild, greedy, and cruel pagans. This stereotype emerged as a result of numerous Lithuanian raids on Polish lands, which continued until the end of the 14th century. It was largely repeated by the chronicler Jan Długosz in the 15th century, who was also the first to attribute honorable Roman origins to the Lithuanians. During the Polish–Lithuanian union, interactions primarily took place at the level of the nobility. The Lithuanian nobility gradually adopted the Polish language and cultural elements, yet they were often perceived by the Polish nobility as uncouth and poor. Lithuanians were viewed as stubborn, distrustful, and cunning. Despite this, they were treated as "one of us." The Lithuanian nobility, on the other hand, regarded the Crown nobility as arrogant braggarts prone to megalomania and fond of drunkenness, referring to them as "monkeys." By the 18th century, there was a widespread belief in Lithuania that the Lithuanian nobility spoke Polish better than the Crown nobility. The common Lithuanian people, as well as the lower nobility, often referred to as Samogitians (), were considered by Poles as barbaric and semi-pagan, speaking an incomprehensible, "bird-like" language.
Long 19th century In the 19th century, ethnographers and researchers became increasingly interested in the simple Lithuanian folk, who, unlike the nobility, did not use the Polish language in their daily lives. This interest was connected with the "mythologization of Lithuania" in Polish literary culture, which portrayed Lithuania as a land of peace and tolerance, where robust, simple folk lived in harmony with the Polish manor. In the Polish language, a term analogous to "chłopomania" () appeared: "litwomania" () referring to obsessive fascination with peasant Lithuanian identity.
The term took on a pejorative connotation when the Lithuanian national movement emerged, which generally viewed Polish influence in Lithuania negatively. One of its demands was for Polish-speaking Lithuanians to return to the language of their ancestors and embrace an ethnic Lithuanian identity. In response, a historical theory emerged, claiming that a significant portion of Lithuania's inhabitants had Polish origins, being descendants of thousands of captives brought to Lithuania during the Middle Ages. This theory originated in the early 20th century, primarily in the writings of historians Władysław Abraham and Zygmunt Gloger. Although challenged by subsequent generations of historians, it persisted until the second half of the 20th century.