Adolf Hitler's birthplace to transform into police station to prevent neo-nazi site

Austria’s interior ministry announced on November 20 that Adolf Hitler’s birthplace in Braunau am Inn will be turned into a police station. The ministry, in a statement, said the handling of the birthplace has been a challenge for the authorities for more than 70 years, considering the connection with the history of Third Reich. The house in Braunau am Inn, near the German border, will be redesigned following an international architectural competition.

"The future use of the house by the police should set an unmistakable sign that this building is permanently removed from memory of Nazism," said Minister of the Interior Wolfgang Peschorn.

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Deterrent to idea of neo-nazi shrine

The property located at the address ‘Salzburger Vorstadt 15, Braunau am Inn’ was expropriated by the officials in January 2017 with the help of special legal authorisation and a compensation amount of 8,12,000 euros was paid to the former owner. The Austrian legislature also gave orders to ensure that the property is used in such a way that any form of neo-Nazi activities is prevented. The basic idea was to use the place as a deterrent for those who would make it a neo-nazi shrine.

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Architectural competition across EU

The Austrian government, after preliminary work in August, an architectural competition will be carried out across the European Union by Bundesimmobilen GmbH (BIG) on behalf of the federal government. The expropriated property will be turned into the district police command and the Braunau am Inn police station after the redesign.

“The proposals in the competition are intended to implement the recommendation of the interdisciplinary commission and, in the future, to integrate the building architecturally into the existing ensemble of the suburb in Braunau,” said the interior ministry in a statement.

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Proposals with innovative functional concept

The competition proposals will be evaluated by an independent jury of experts, which will include architects as well as a representative of the city of Braunau, the BIG, the Federal Government and the National Fund. The result of the competition is expected in the first half of 2020.

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