New plaque claims Duisburg invented Currywurst, not Berlin

The Currywurst controversy continues: A new plaque has cemented claims that the internationally renowned Berlin dish was… invented in Duisburg.

Duisburg plaque commemorates Currywurst inventor

Outside Peter Pomm's Pusztetten-Stube in Duisburg, North Rhine-Westphalia, there is now a golden plaque which reads, “Peter Hildebrand alias „Peter Pomm“ hat im Jahr 1936 in Duisburg die Currywurst erfunden” (Peter Hildebrand, using the alias “Peter Pomm”, invented the Currywurst in Duisburg in 1936).

Iris Taubner, who works in her grandfather’s Stube today, feels vindicated. “What our father told us, but some of the customers didn’t believe, “Your grandfather invented Currywurst,” has now to be recognised. And with the plaque, we are even more secure!” Taubner told WDR.

Currywurst was long thought to have been invented by Herta Heuwer in Berlin in 1949; indeed, a plaque hangs outside Heuwer’s original Currywurst shop on Kantstraße in the capital. But research by food writers Tim Koch and Gregor Lauenburger recently threw a Wurst in the works.

“In 1936, Peter Pomm, who was called Peter Johann Hildebrand, had already put curry powder on a tomato sauce-covered sausage,” Koch and Lauenburger explained to WDR. “We have seen and published the receipts, which show British curry powder was delivered to Peter Johann Hildebrand, issued from the port in Hamburg.”

Duisburg is ready to profit from the Currywurst hype

After years of claims flying back and forth, including a 2020 power scramble which involved the Interest Group for Berlin Traditional Sausage trademarking a sausage, Duisburg is ready to profit from its newfound glory.

More customers have been arriving at Peter Pomm's Pusztetten-Stube from across Germany to try the original dish. To add to the sense of authenticity, long the underdog, Taubner and fellow employees of the Stube have barely updated the decor since their grandfather's days.

Lest we forget its true origins once more, Duisburg has now declared Peter Pomm’s birthday as “Day of the Currywurst”. “September 22 is my new, personal public holiday,” Taubner told WDR.