“We still have a lot to sort out”. An interview with Holger Schlageter, author of “Unter deutschen Betten. Eine polnische Putzfrau packt aus” (“Beneath German beds. A Polish cleaning lady reveals all”)

Porta Polonica: Mr Schlageter, in 2011, you already had a number of books published, including advice manuals such as “Das Geheimnis gelassener Erziehung” (“The Secret to Stress-Free Parenting”) and “Führen mit Zielen” (“Goal-Oriented Leadership”). With your doctorate in theology and degree in psychology, what made you take a sudden interest in Polish cleaning ladies?

Holger Schlageter: The subject was literally served to me on a platter. At that time, several of my friends had taken on cleaning ladies from Poland, and I had chatted with one of them once in a while. I quickly discovered that they had stories to tell. Stories that should be of interest to many more people.

PP: What do you mean by that exactly?

HS: Well, imagine that you arrive in a country, without much knowledge of the language and the culture, a country that you only know about from hearsay, and you work there in private households without any binding contractual rules. There’s quite a lot of interesting material in there.

PP: Can you give me an example?

HS: Well, there’s no doubt that as a group, cleaning ladies have a strong work ethic and are willing to take risks. They’re also curious by nature, they’re open-minded and want to take control of their own lives. However, during that time, from a German perspective they were far down on the social ladder. Cleaning is considered to be a low-grade job, and the legal framework around employment was often unclear. Not only that, the language barrier and different mentalities can also lead to conflict. Also, against this background, some Germans have not exactly shown themselves at their best. The cleaning ladies whom I spoke to told me how they had suffered prejudice and arrogant treatment, as well as unacceptable behaviour and excessive familiarity. But of course, the opposite was also true: their employers could be wonderfully supportive and kind. After all, there are human beings involved on both sides.

PP: But what specifically motivated you so strongly to write a whole book about the subject?

HS: On the one hand, I was interested in the subject of “social justice”. On the other, as a psychologist, I realised that the material was simply very strong. There’s the cleaning lady, allegedly of low status, holding a mirror up to German citizens. It was an interesting perspective, and one that hadn’t been written about much at the time.