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Dusseldorf,Germany (dpa) - Hermann Doernemann celebrated his 111th birthday Thursday as the oldest German man, marking the event with his family, his daughter said.
The daughter said her father's recipe for longevity includes avoiding sports and drinking one beer a day. Also, when he boils potatoes he drinks the water for their vitamins.
Hermann Doernemann was born May 27, 1893 in the nearby city of Essen, the youngest of eight children. An electrical engineer, he has lived in Dusseldorf since 1947. He has one daughter, one grandchild and two great-grandchildren.
His daughter described her father as being an old-style gentleman. Even as a 100-year-old he was holding the door open for the "young women in their 70s", she said.
The oldest person in Germany is a woman, Lina Zimmer, who was born about six months before Doernemann.
Copyright 2004 dpa Deutsche Presse-Agentur GmbH
