Hitler’s birthplace gets new life as police station, Austria aims to break Nazi myth

A new chapter has begun for the building where Adolf Hitler was born in Braunau am Inn, on the Austrian-German border, which now functions as a police station, after years of heated discussions over its fate.

Austrian authorities secured the property through a compulsory purchase in 2017, when it was in private hands and served as a support center for people with disabilities. Two years later, it was decided that the building would undergo a complete reconstruction and be turned into a police headquarters.

The only evidence of the building’s dark past is a memorial stone brought from the Mauthausen concentration camp, which stands in front of the entrance and bears the engraved words: “Never again fascism”. On the facade, there is nothing else but the simple inscription “Police”.

Stefan Mltschoch, head of the History Department at the Ministry of the Interior, explained that the goal was to sever any connection with Hitler, so that the building would finally be freed from the symbolism and myths that surrounded it.

During the Nazi era, the house had been turned into an art museum, fueling the dictator’s cult of personality. However, historians recall that Hitler lived there only for a few weeks after his birth in 1889, before the family moved elsewhere.

Tourists continue to stop to photograph the building, but local authorities report that attendance by neo-Nazi groups has dropped significantly in recent years. In Austria, both the Nazi salute and other symbols of the regime are strictly prohibited by law.

The mayor of Braunau am Inn, Johannes Weidbacher, told Reuters that the community has generally accepted the building’s new function. He stressed that other alternatives had been considered, including use as an administrative office or charitable premises, but the police station was deemed the most appropriate solution.

However, the decision has not been without opponents. The Mauthausen Committee, which represents Holocaust survivors in Austria, argues that the building should have been assigned a stronger role in educating the public about the crimes of Nazism.

Representatives of this organization emphasize that while at Mauthausen the message “Never again” is conveyed every year, in Braunau there seems to be an effort to minimize the historical weight of the site. According to them, changing the destination will not stop neo-Nazis from visiting, as Hitler’s birthplace will always remain an internationally known point of reference.

Even among the city’s residents, opinions are divided. Some would prefer the building to continue serving charitable purposes, while others are convinced that turning it into a police station is the most efficient way to end its use as a symbol by extremist groups.