"the family was unlucky and stayed poor all through the 50s, and was the German equivalent of "white trash". But he worked his way up out of poverty by sheer hard work and ambition"
As Jefferson would say," I am a strong believer in luck and I find the harder I work the more I have of it."
I consider your reference to "white trash" offensive.
sp
Sorry, didn't know it was an offensive rather than a descriptive term.