‘Double-edged sword’: Austria converts Hitler's birth house into police station

The house where Adolf Hitler was born in Austria will be converted into a police station, a move that has sparked mixed reactions in his hometown, local authorities said.The interior ministry said officers are expected to move in during “the second quarter of 2026”.“It's a double-edged sword,” said Sibylle Treiblmaier outside the house in the town of Braunau am Inn, near the German border, as cited by AFPShe said the move could deter far-right extremists from gathering at the site but added it could have “been used better or differently”.The government said it wanted to “neutralise” the site and passed a law in 2016 to take control of the dilapidated building from its private owner.Hitler was born in the house on April 20, 1889, and lived there for a short period in his early life. The building sits in the town centre on a narrow, shop-lined street.A memorial stone in front of the house reads: “For Peace, Freedom and Democracy. Never Again Fascism. Millions of Dead Warn.”Although Hitler lived at the property only briefly, it continues to attract Nazi sympathisers from around the world. Each year on his birthday, anti-fascist protesters hold a rally outside the building.Austria, which was annexed by Nazi Germany in 1938, has long faced criticism for failing to fully acknowledge its responsibility for the Holocaust.The far-right Freedom Party, founded by former Nazis, currently leads opinion polls after winning the most votes in the 2024 national election, though it did not succeed in forming a government.Last year, two streets in Braunau am Inn named after Nazis were renamed following years of pressure from activists."A police station is problematic, as the police... are obliged, in every political system, to protect what the state wants," said Ludwig Laher, a member of the Mauthausen Committee Austria that represents Holocaust victims, as cited by AFP.Debate has periodically resurfaced across Austria over how the country confronts its Holocaust past. Around 65,000 Austrian Jews were killed during Nazi rule, while about 130,000 were forced into exile.