Adolf Hitler’s birthplace has been transformed into a police station. A part of US$24 million project, the revamp of this historical structure faced criticism from anti-Nazi groups. Located at the centre of Braunau am Inn town on a narrow shop-lined street, it shares border with Germany.
Landmarks associated with Hitler revive graphic memories of country’s Holocaust in which nearly 65,000 Austrian Jews were killed while 130,000 others were forced into exile during Nazi rule. In 1938, Hitler’s Germany annexed Austria and kept it under the Nazi regime till 1945.
Born on 20 April 1889, Hitler lived for a short period of his early life in the Austrian house. Since world War 2, there has been a debate over the purpose this house should serve. This building was reportedly used as a school, library and makeshift museum. In 2016, the government took control of the dilapidated building to ensure that it does not become a symbol of neo-Nazis. It was a privately structure, which came under state’s control through a law as an effort to “neutralise” the site.
The decision to turn this building, which was a popular tourist destination, into a police station was made on 19 November 2019. The official statement from the Interior Minister at that time stated, “The future use of the house by the police should send an unmistakable signal that the role of this building as a memorial to the Nazis has been permanently revoked,” Now This Impact reported.
A memorial stone placed in front of the revamped house states, “For Peace, Freedom and Democracy. Never Again Fascism. Millions of Dead Warn.”
With finishing touches in place, the interior ministry said that police officers are set to move in during “the second quarter of 2026”. Before police station makeover, the building was rented by the interior ministry and functioned as a centre for people with disabilities.
Adolf Hitler’s birthplace is a ‘double-edged sword’
“It’s a double-edged sword,” South China Morning Post quoted office assistant Sibylle Treiblmaier as saying. Suggesting that the site could have “been used better or differently”, the 53-year-old office assistant said, it might discourage far-right extremists from gathering at the site.
Author and a member of the Mauthausen Committee Austria, Ludwig Laher, who represents Holocaust victims said, “A police station is problematic, as the police … are obliged, in every political system, to protect what the state wants.”
According to Ludwig Laher, discussions of turning the house into a place where people would come together to discuss peace-building had “received a lot of support.”
