Günter Wallraff's Deviant Brand of Journalism

From Günter Wallraff film Black on White exposes casual racism in Germany

German politicians have been urging foreign residents to integrate more deeply into society — and so Kwami Ogonno, a Somali, decided to do his bit.

He tried to rent an apartment, join the local allotment community, stay the night at a campsite and apply for a hunter's licence — a fair introduction to mainstream German society. But at every juncture he was blocked, and often rudely rejected.

Kwami Ogonno is, in fact, Günter Wallraff — one of Germany's top investigative reporters — and he has now made a film, Black on White, and written a book about his expeditions into the country's racially prejudiced undergrowth.

Blacked-up and wearing an implausible Afro-style wig, Mr Wallraff's first point was quickly apparent: that the Germans are so unaccustomed to seeing black faces in everyday life that they cannot distinguish his not-very-convincing caricature from the real thing. The result is, if anything, more revealing than Sacha Baron Cohen's fictional character Borat — supposedly a Kazakh reporter — who exposed bigotry in the US.

One of Kwami's first destinations was a guard-dog training centre in Cologne. Kwami explained that he would like to train his dog to defend him from skinheads, but the owner of the centre took one look at the pseudo-Somali — whose skin colouring involved two hours of spraying — before blurting out: "Sorry, no places left on the course." When Kwami persisted, the owner cited an absurdly high sign-up fee of ¤250 (£226). A voice could be heard off-camera saying: "And those rates are about to go up!"

Kwami gave up, but Mr Wallraff's secret camera team remained in place long enough to film a white German trying to enrol shortly afterwards — and being accepted immediately, and charged the usual fee of ¤60. ...


From Gunter Wallraff uncovers racism in Germany; thru a White Mans' Eyes

You Know It's bad when a whiteman goes undercover and then says it's bad. check out this clip, where he is applying for a flat.

Apparently he wanted to get the real "flava of bavaria" uncut. in this clip we see him getting sprayed up and then on a bus with some rather unhappy soccer fans; who are not down with his steelo.

this is more representative of what I've personally seen in germany when attending sporting events and you are the sole darker face.  many other darker people have remarked to me over the years that they did not enjoy their trips to germany.

in the 90′s quite a few of my african american business associates remarked to me that they had experienced the same cold and differientiating treatment; because they were darker skinned. one was a senior account rep for amex who basically rejected the treatment and shut down a major account for purchases;  due to their lack of sensitivity to minority contractors and associates. he cancelled their ghost card on the spot. bamm.

Clearly they just didn't realize that He Wasn't The One..

yeah, been there did that. never again..

FYI – Schwarzer translates to Black. It's  Arnold Schwarzenegger. so you know his name means Arnold Black well you got it,,

Germans are not into coloring outside the lines. no sirree bob


From Günter Wallraff says 9/11 the work of Covert Ops

Question:

Bin Laden ist also nicht der Drahtzieher?
(Bin Laden is therefore NOT the mastermind?)

WALLRAFF:

Hinter den Anschlägen steckt ein Plan, mit eiskaltem Kalkül und einer Langzeitstrategie.
(the attacks went according to a plan of cold reasoning and long-term-strategy)

Und man muss davor warnen, dass unsere Politiker in diese Falle tappen,
(and one has to warn of our politicians stepping into this trap)

damit nicht eine Neuaufteilung der Welt im Sinne dieser Terroristen geschieht ...
(so that a new, terrorist-designed division of the world is prevented)

QUESTION:

... die Sie im arabischen Raum sehen.
(which you see inside te arabic realm)

WALLRAFF:

Ja. Ich sehe die Aktion aber nicht auf einen Einzelnen konzentriert.
(Yes. I see this act not concentrated on the idividual.)

Es ist die Handschrift von Geheimdienst-Experten.
(It is the hand-writing of intelligence-experts)

Aus welchem Land oder Ländern dies genau beaufragt wurde,
wird sich vielleicht nie exakt beweisen lassen.
(From which country or countries this was commanded
may never be exactly provable)


Wallraff came to prominence thanks to his striking research methods. This style of research is based on what the reporter experiences personally after inveigling himself into the heart of the subject under investigation. Wallraff would construct a fictional identity so that he was not recognisable as a journalist. In this way, he created books which denounce what he considers to be social injustices and which try to provide readers with new insights into the way in which society works.

Life and work

Wallraff first took up this kind of investigative journalism in 1969 when he published 13 unerwünschte Reportagen ("13 undesired reports") in which he described what he experienced when acting the parts of an alcoholic, a tramp, and a worker in a chemicals factory.

He traveled to Greece in May 1974 at the time of the Ioannides dictorship. While in Syntagma Square, he protested against human right violations. He was arrested and tortured by the police, as he did not carry, on purpose, any papers on him that could identify him as a foreigner. After his identity was revealed, Wallraff was convicted and sentenced to 14 months in jail. He was released in August, after the end of the dictatorship. ...