Austria converts Adolf Hitler’s birthplace in Braunau am Inn into a police station, aiming to neutralise the site amid mixed local reactions and national historical debates.
BRAUNAU AM INN: Austria has converted the house where Adolf Hitler was born into a police station, a move met with mixed emotions in his hometown.
The government sought to “neutralise” the site, passing a law in 2016 to take control of the dilapidated building from its private owner.
“It’s a double-edged sword,” said local resident Sibylle Treiblmaier outside the house on the border with Germany.
She noted it might discourage far-right gatherings but felt it could have “been used better or differently”.
Officers are scheduled to move in during “the second quarter of 2026”, according to the interior ministry.
The house, where Hitler was born on April 20, 1889, sits on a narrow shop-lined street in the town centre.
A memorial stone in front reads: “For Peace, Freedom and Democracy. Never Again Fascism. Millions of Dead Warn.”
For author Ludwig Laher, a member of the Mauthausen Committee Austria, “a police station is problematic”.
He argued the police are obliged “to protect what the state wants” in every political system.
Laher said an earlier idea for a peace-building discussion centre had “received a lot of support”.
Local shop owner Jasmin Stadler said it would have been interesting to put Hitler’s birth in “historic context”.
She also criticised the rebuild’s cost of 20 million euros.
Others support the redesign, hoping it prevents the site becoming a far-right shrine.
“It makes sense to use the building and give it to the police, to the public authorities,” said electrical engineer Wolfgang Leithner.
He added it would “hopefully bring a bit of calm”.
The building was previously rented by the interior ministry and housed a disability centre.
Austria has faced criticism for not fully acknowledging its responsibility in the Holocaust.
The far-right Freedom Party, founded by former Nazis, leads recent polls after a strong 2024 election.
Last year, two streets in Braunau am Inn commemorating Nazis were renamed after activist complaints.
Throughout Austria, debate on addressing the country’s Holocaust history repeatedly flares.
Some 65,000 Austrian Jews were killed and 130,000 forced into exile during Nazi rule.
The Sun Malaysia
