The owner of a restaurant in the city of Duhok, located in Iraqi Kurdistan, had to hastily change the establishment's name after local authorities suddenly changed their minds about whether calling it “Hetlar Resturant” was appropriate.
Although its name doesn't exactly match that of the German Führer, the owner of the restaurant, Rebar Mohammed, doesn't try to conceal the fact that it was named after him. Still, in an interview with The Times of Israel, he insisted that it was just a PR stunt to attract customers by using scandalous name and that he doesn't support the Nazi ideology.
"Hitler was the dictator of Germany and has nothing to do with me. I know I have named my restaurant ‘Hitler’, but that does not mean that I love him. I have done it just to make my restaurant famous among people", the owner said.
Mohammed further stated that none of the patrons have been offended by the establishment's name, as they were more interested in the "cleanliness and taste of [the] food" there. But despite the customers being content, local officials were not very indifferent to its name and reportedly ordered that the eatery be closed until it changes its name plate.
The owner of "Hetlar Resturant" was bewildered by the demand, noting that authorities had no objections to its name when he originally registered it. Nonetheless, he has had to yield to their demands and has agreed to take down the old name.
"Even when I started the paperwork seven months ago to register my restaurant’s name, I did not receive any negative reactions from the government or security forces. It was quite normal", he added.
