Austrian authorities have opened a police station in the building where Adolf Hitler was born, a move intended to disrupt neo-Nazi pilgrimages to the site. The extensively renovated structure in Braunau am Inn now serves as the district police headquarters.
The decision to assign the property to law enforcement aims to strip it of its symbolic appeal to extremists, according to Austrian officials. After remaining vacant since 2011, the 17th-century building was expropriated by the Austrian government following a dispute with its former owner.
An expert commission had previously recommended either administrative or social use for the building, cautioning that a museum might attract extremists regardless of its mission. Demolishing the building was also considered but rejected as it would erase a significant historical site.
While the building's exterior has been refurbished, a memorial stone outside remains. The stone bears the inscription: “For peace, freedom and democracy. Never again Fascism. Millions of dead remind us.” Hitler, born in Austria, advocated for the country's annexation by Germany, which he achieved in 1938.
