The Currywurst Museum in Berlin, located just beside Checkpoint Charlie — the most famous crossing point in the Berlin Wall, until it was knocked down in 1989.
The museum’s existence speaks of the astounding success of a very late arrival on the wurst scene, not the heir to proud traditions of an Imperial Free City, but the result of food shortages in post-1945 Berlin. Parodying John Maynard Keynes, who wrote a book about The Economic Consequences of the Peace, you might say that the currywurst is one of The Gastronomic Consequences of the Peace. And it is still very much with us — an essential part of the Berlin experience.
“Currywurst was invented by the help of an unknown British soldier, who sold curry powder on the black market in Berlin in the late 40s. And for these very cheap sausages, they need some sensory contrast, so they decided to sprinkle curry powder on the sausage,” says [Peter Peter, the food correspondent of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung].

“It was a time when we frenetically discovered foreign dishes, so it was interesting having something Indian, something exotic. It became a symbol of a town that had never had excellent sausages.
“After 1989, Berlin became very popular; a lot of Germans discovered Berlin – so going to a currywurst stall became an experience of a lot of young people. So a dish that in a certain way is a white trash dish became a symbol of visiting Berlin, of young lifestyle.”
From: Neil MacGregor, “The Country with One People and 1200 Sausages”; BBC News Magazine; www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-29380144