Hitler's birthplace converted into police station

The building in Braunau am Inn, Austria, where Adolf Hitler was born has officially begun its new life as a police station. The Austrian government's decision to convert the property, which was previously privately owned and housed a charity, aims to prevent it from becoming a site of pilgrimage for neo-Nazis.

After years of debate, Austria compulsorily purchased the house in 2017. The conversion into a police station was announced in 2019. A rock from the Mauthausen concentration camp, bearing the inscription "Never again fascism," remains in place outside the building, with the only addition to the facade being a sign that reads "Police."

Stephan Mlczoch, head of the Austrian interior ministry's history department, stated the goal was to "prevent any association with Adolf Hitler, so as to strip it of that mystique." The building, referred to by Nazis as the "Fuehrer birth house," was briefly an art museum, though Hitler only lived there for a few weeks in 1889. While passers-by sometimes stop to take pictures, local officials report only isolated incidents involving visitors.

Mayor Johannes Waidbacher indicated that the people of Braunau have largely accepted the conversion, noting that a charitable use would have made the building too accessible. He expressed hope that the approach would be successful, stating, "we'll have to wait and see."

However, some opposition exists. Robert Eiter of the Mauthausen Committee and the Network Against Racism and Right-Wing Extremism argued that a police station is an inappropriate use and that more attention should be drawn to Hitler's crimes. He believes the conversion will not deter neo-Nazis from visiting. Some local residents also expressed a preference for the charity to remain, but most appear supportive of the change.