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Polish cleaner blows the lid on 'dirty' Germans


jonni  16 | 2475  
11 Jan 2011 /  #1
I thought this was quite telling.

The much-vaunted Teutonic virtues of organisation and order have been dealt a withering blow in a new tell-all book - by a Polish char lady - which exposes her German employers as mean, filthy homeowners, who don't pay up and set devious traps to check that her work is done.

Under German Beds by the 32-year-old Polish cleaner - who writes under the pen name Justyna Polanska - has only just been released, but the account, which is drawn from her 12 years' experience of cleaning for well-to-do German households, already seems destined to be a bestseller.

Here's the rest: independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/polish-cleaner-blows-the-lid-on-dirty-germans-2181131.html
PennBoy  76 | 2429  
11 Jan 2011 /  #2
I dunno where they got the whole idea of Poles being dirty in the first place, it's hard to find a Polish household that isn't spick and span, Poles take pride in remodeling their homes and keeping them clean. Germans can learn something from Poles on that.
sobieski  106 | 2111  
11 Jan 2011 /  #3
I think this story can be applicable to pretty much every country in Europe.
A J  4 | 1075  
11 Jan 2011 /  #4
Germans can learn something from Poles on that.

Me being Dutch, don't really mind making fun of Germans. (Germs in this case!) I don't believe everything that people write down in a book though! I mean, I'm absolutely positive you can find a few dirtbags in every country, Poland included!

;)
PennBoy  76 | 2429  
11 Jan 2011 /  #5
I understand but they think that's there's vastly more clean Germans than Poles, just try convincing them otherwise could be very long and painful...
OP jonni  16 | 2475  
11 Jan 2011 /  #6
Poles take pride in remodeling their homes and keeping them clean.

That's certainly true. When I first moved there, I assumed from the awful external state of some of the houses, that the insides would be just as bad. In fact the insides of Polish homes tend to be immaculate, no matter how tatty the outsides look.
A J  4 | 1075  
11 Jan 2011 /  #7
I understand but they think that's there's vastly more clean Germans than Poles, just try convincing them otherwise could be very long and painful...

Try squeeling like a pig, they might actually understand you! (Where's Bratwurst when you need him, huh?)

xD
PennBoy  76 | 2429  
11 Jan 2011 /  #8
That's certainly true. When I first moved there, I assumed from the awful external state of some of the houses, that the insides would be just as bad. In fact the insides of Polish homes tend to be immaculate, no matter how tatty the outsides look.

Yep, most Poles spend much money on doing it to, new bathrooms, hardwood flooring, detailing rooms. In the countryside they're building beautiful homes these days and wanna keep them looking new and clean.


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Bratwurst Boy  8 | 11710  
11 Jan 2011 /  #9
I thought this was quite telling.

I read the article I and still don't know what that should telling me...can you help me out?

(Where's Bratwurst when you need him, huh?)

wub you too! :)
OP jonni  16 | 2475  
11 Jan 2011 /  #10
That the servant is so often much more dignified than those they serve, and that the German stereotype of Poles is unpleasantly inaccurate. I once invited a German friend to visit me in Warsaw. He eventually came, but flew rather than drove, since he wasn't prepared to park his car anywhere in Poland, because as he said, Poles like to steal cars!

In the countryside they're building beautiful homes these days and wanna keep them looking new and clean.

Nice pictures from a glossy magazine. Most people can only dream of such places and have to work with much less - nevertheless they manage.
Bratwurst Boy  8 | 11710  
11 Jan 2011 /  #11
1.) In this case it rather sounds like the story of ONE servant with a grudge ;)
Maybe she always dreamt of being something else and hated ther job, hating being a servant. I think she is not the only one but she really should look for another job.

And besides stealing between house personal is nothing uncommon. It must be seducing for a poor servant working unobserved in a well off environment. Cameras in the houses are quite common for awhile now.

Nothing personal though.

2.) Yeah...employing people to clean their houses makes definitely for "dirty" Germans! This logic is absolutely convincing!

:):):)

Nice pictures from a glossy magazine. Most people can only dream of such places and have to work with much less - nevertheless they manage.

because as he said, Poles like to steal cars!

Well...here too that prejudice is sadly founded on facts and statistics. The same with stealing house personal, you might not like it and begrudge the Germans for that but that is illogical!
OP jonni  16 | 2475  
11 Jan 2011 /  #12
I think she is not the only one but she really should look for another job

Well, she's a published author now.
Bratwurst Boy  8 | 11710  
11 Jan 2011 /  #13
What a smart way to change careers, isn't it! ;)

I would take her book with a heavy helping of salt if I were you. But of course alot of it is based in the reality too, but not how you would have it!

I'm sure the well off polish households have their helpers too...most probably poorer Ukrainians, who probably too will want to take something extra besides their earn.Would you call these Poles "dirty" ???

ROFL

ukrainebusiness.com.ua/news/709.html
artukraine.com/uasupport/land_hope.htm

"The Polish women make so much money in Germany that they can pay a Ukrainian to clean their houses in Poland," Melnyk said.

PennBoy  76 | 2429  
11 Jan 2011 /  #14
Most people can only dream of such places and have to work with much less - nevertheless they manage.

There's quite a few people that do have a house like that, but you're right this is more typical in the countryside.


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OP jonni  16 | 2475  
11 Jan 2011 /  #15
The second picture is closer to the average but still far better than most. Sometimes I've visited houses that look as if they're abandoned, but the inside is spic and span.
guesswho  4 | 1272  
11 Jan 2011 /  #16
Poles like to steal cars!

OK, he should say, some Poles and he wouldn't lie about it and you know it.
Bratwurst Boy  8 | 11710  
11 Jan 2011 /  #17
....

So...can you help me out now?

What in the article is so "telling"???
southern  73 | 7059  
11 Jan 2011 /  #18
Yes,Germans do a lot of sh1t with their immigrant labour but as usual it is swept under the carpet.It is part of Germany's hidden resources a concept sb has to live there to realize its potential.
OP jonni  16 | 2475  
11 Jan 2011 /  #19
OK, he should say, some Poles and he wouldn't lie and you know it.

Difficult to know what point you're trying to make - we're talking about stereotypes.
Bratwurst Boy  8 | 11710  
11 Jan 2011 /  #20
we're talking about stereotypes.

So...you think it's telling that the stereotype about the "clean" Germans isn't true because they hire someone to do the cleaning?

Is it that what you mean???
OP jonni  16 | 2475  
11 Jan 2011 /  #21
Is it that what you mean???

Read the article - and what makes you think I'm trying to make any point other than to share an interesting article?
Natasa  1 | 572  
11 Jan 2011 /  #22
you think it's telling that the stereotype about the "clean" Germans isn't true because they hire someone to do the cleaning?

Germans have a special definition of being "clean", they insist more on some kind of total order or cosmos, than on typical aseptic ( not noxious) clean like others ( at least me) do.

They are evil, but they are clean.

Hi Bratwurst, I missed you ;)
PennBoy  76 | 2429  
11 Jan 2011 /  #23
The second picture is closer to the average but still far better than most.

The second is like what my family in Poland has, but that's an 80's style house, the one on the left is what was being built from around the year 2000. The brand new styles are like these two, the second of course being much more expensive, probably in some Warsaw suburb.


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Bratwurst Boy  8 | 11710  
11 Jan 2011 /  #24
Read the article - and what makes you think I'm trying to make any point other than to share an interesting article?

I read the article and then I read your "it's quite telling"...
So please help me out, WHAT is it telling (to you) ? Because I thought it's the memoirs of a cleaning lady who hated her job. Not more, not less.

Hi Bratwurst, I missed you ;)

Naaaah...*shuffles feet*
Harry  
11 Jan 2011 /  #25
So...you think it's telling that the stereotype about the "clean" Germans isn't true because they hire someone to do the cleaning?

Here in Warsaw anybody who has the money to do so hires a Ukrainian to clean their flat. And most of them pay utterly disgraceful wages to the illegal immigrants unfortunate enough to work for them. I'm constantly being told that I pay far too much to my cleaner (I pay her 80zl for what takes between three and four hours to do).
Bratwurst Boy  8 | 11710  
11 Jan 2011 /  #26
Here in Warsaw anybody who has the money to do so hires a Ukrainian to clean their flat

Believable!

ukrainebusiness.com.ua/news/709.html

Ukrainian women largest pool of foreign workers in Poland

Those "dirty" Poles!!! ;)
OP jonni  16 | 2475  
11 Jan 2011 /  #27
So please help me out, WHAT is it telling (to you) ?

That the exploited is so often more dignified than those who exploit them, and that the German stereotype of Poles is so often painfully wrong.
guesswho  4 | 1272  
11 Jan 2011 /  #28
Difficult to know what point you're trying to make - we're talking about stereotypes.

Well, isn't it a known fact that cars and other things were stolen in Germany and in other western European countries by some of your countrymen?

I'm far away from saying that all Poles are thieves but unfortunately some of you are and they are ruining your reputation. I also know that many of you are ashamed of them (like my friends in Poland) and that most of you guys condemn their behavior.

online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704190704575489561080710780.html
spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,693129,00.html

PS.: (Before you'll say it) of course there are thieves everywhere, it''s just that it seems like this "car stealing business" is pretty well developed in Poland.
PennBoy  76 | 2429  
11 Jan 2011 /  #29
Those "dirty" Poles!!! ;)

Ukrainians are the largest foreign workforce in Poland, real numbers are actually much higher, women clean or take care of kids, men do construction jobs. But i've never read about Ukrainian women saying that Poles houses are filthy BB, just about peoples arrogance.
A J  4 | 1075  
11 Jan 2011 /  #30
wub you too! :)

I'm happy.

:)

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