The house where Adolf Hitler was born and spent the first years of his life will be turned into a police station.
The Austrian authorities took this decision with the aim of preventing far-right extremists from turning the site into a place of worship.
The country’s government hopes the conversion of the building will end a long dispute over the use of the site, as Austria is often criticized for not fully accepting responsibility for its role in the Holocaust.
After a €20 million renovation that was completed three years late, the building in the center of Braunau am Inn is now almost unrecognizable.
The strong message outside the building
Architectural office Marte plastered and painted white the once yellow walls of the 17th century residence, which is located near the German border and where Hitler was born on April 20, 1889.
The police sign now dominates the entrance, while the commemorative plaque with the inscription: “For peace, freedom and democracy” remains on the sidewalk. Never again fascism. Millions dead warn.”
The property had been in the same family since 1912. From 1972 it was leased to the Austrian state and operated as a care center for the disabled, a population group that was also among the victims of the Third Reich.
Source: Lifo
