Ganz unten. (1985)

Een must-read voor elke journalist in spé!
Je vergeet om de haverklap dat het waargebeurd is. Niet enkel door de verhalen die gewoonweg té maf lijken om realiteit te zijn, maar ook door de intrigerende schrijfstijl van Wallraff; de grootste onderzoeksjournalist die we kennen. Prachtig doch deprimerend. Het besef dat nu toch al veel van dergelijke praktijken zijn opgehouden (of toch in onze Westerse wereld) maakt het iets draaglijker om tot het einde te komen van dit magnifiek boek. ( )

I finally picked up a copy of this classic work of German investigative journalism. It is a great, shocking and funny read about the Panglossian adventures of a fake-Turkish immigrant in poverty at the rock bottom of society. Beside the absolute horror of neglect and disregard of labor and health standards of even large companies during the 1980s in Germany, Wallraff never fails to discover the absurd and funny moments of his wrecked existence. His completely gratuitous attempt in joining the Catholic church and the shocked reaction of the clergy about this over-eager disciple is great comedy. The underlying racism and discrimination is all too real, however. While the inner unionized workers are obviously aware of the abuse going on, they actively collude with the management against the so-called "others". As always, such dreadful behavior can only be broken if the responsible managers, currently sheltered behind a host of shell companies and forged records, are put behind prison bars. Nearly thirty years later, it remains an important and still relevant book that is both shocking and a pleasure to read. Highly recommended. ( )

A classic undercover investigation into the life of a Turkish immigrant worker in German industry.

Deeply shattering. It might be good to know that one of the few developed countries where it was not possible to have this book edited was the USA.

Extremely recommended. ( )

immer wieder interessant, darin zu schmökern, aber: wie ist es heute?