ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — The owner of the now notorious Duhok restaurant once called “Hitler Restaurant” has changed his business’ name.
Owner Rebar Mohammed told Rudaw on Tuesday that the culinary establishment now goes by the less controversial name “Chef Rebar.” He reiterated that he only chose the Hitler name to help get publicity.
“I choose Chef Rebar, which is a Kurdish name and we’re Kurds. Concerning the Hitler name, it was only a business idea and of course it was widely spread,” Mohammed told Rudaw.
Mohammed opened the restaurant in early 2019. He told Rudaw English last week that he chose the original name in an attempt to spread the word and bring customers to his restaurant.
The name prompted a controversy on Kurdish social media, with some people defending the name and others criticizing it due to Hitler’s role in the Holocaust, where the German state systematically killed more than 10,000,000 Jews, Roma, homosexuals, Poles, political dissidents and others.
One Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) working on matters related to genocides of Kurds in Iraq told Rudaw English that names like Hitler should not be allowed for businesses. Facing the public backlash, Kurdish security forces ordered Mohammed to close his restaurant until a new name was chosen last week.
Like Jews, Kurds have faced systematic killings. Throughout the 1980s, the former Iraqi regime of President Saddam Hussein killed more than 180,000 Kurds in what is known as the Anfal genocide.
Chef Rebar is now back open for business. The owner admitted the public outcry prompted him to change the name.
“I’ve faced many reactions. I was contacted from Europe and Arab countries,” he said. “This was spread across social media.”
Mohammed did not specify what people said to him, but said Germans contacted him and someone translated their messages for him. He did imply that some people in Baghdad wanted to eat his food after learning he named the restaurant after Hitler.
“Even people in Baghdad called me to deliver food,” he said. “But I said we can’t reach there.”
Hitler is a popular figure in parts of the Arab world, where the Arabic translation of his book “Mein Kampf” is widely available.
Things are back to normal at the restaurant, according to Mohammed.
“Our work is going normally,” he said. “We don’t have any problems.”
Reporting by Nasir Ali
Translation by Sarkawt Mohammed
