As a spokesman for the turkish-german entrepreneurs association (TDU) berlin-brandenburg told the news agency dpa on saturday, the "father of the donor" had already died on thursday in berlin.
Kadir nurman came to germany as a guest worker. In 1972, he began selling meat in pita bread at the zoo train station in berlin, as he himself reported during his lifetime. The doner kebab was born, at least on german soil. In turkey, grilled meat from the spit is on the plate, in germany it traditionally goes over the counter in pita bread.
However, other restaurateurs also claim to have invented the german doner. Swabian nevzat salim claims to have sold the first doner in reutlingen as early as 1969. Berlin restaurateur mehmet aygun also claims authorship of the game. He had already brought doner among the people in 1971, he said.
"A lot of people say that," said ahmet dede, the husband of a niece of kadir nurman, on saturday. The true inventor of the doner kebab in germany is undoubtedly kadir nurman. The TDU emphasized the importance of the anatolian for the german economy: with his invention of the doner, nurman created countless jobs in the catering industry, said a spokesman. "He therefore enjoys great respect in the turkish community."