Hitler’s childhood home becomes a police station in US$24 million revamp

Turning the house where Adolf Hitler was born into a police station has raised mixed emotions in his Austrian hometown. “It’s a double-edged sword,” said Sibylle Treiblmaier, outside the house in the town of Braunau am Inn on the border with Germany. While it might discourage far-right extremists from gathering at the site, it could have “been used better or differently”, the 53-year-old office assistant said. The government wants to “neutralise” the site and passed a law in 2016 to take control... AdvertisementAustriaWorldEuropeHitler’s childhood home becomes a police station in US$24 million revampHolocaust campaigners say putting police in the dictator’s former home is a ‘problematic’ way of dealing with the town’s dark historyReading Time:2 minutesWhy you can trust SCMPAgence France-PressePublished: 2:35pm, 21 Feb 2026Updated: 2:38pm, 21 Feb 2026Turning the house where Adolf Hitler was born into a police station has raised mixed emotions in his Austrian hometown.“It’s a double-edged sword,” said Sibylle Treiblmaier, outside the house in the town of Braunau am Inn on the border with Germany.While it might discourage far-right extremists from gathering at the site, it could have “been used better or differently”, the 53-year-old office assistant said.AdvertisementThe government wants to “neutralise” the site and passed a law in 2016 to take control of the dilapidated building from its private owner.Workers put the finishing touches to the new police station in Braunau am Inn, Austria. Photo: AFPAustria, which was annexed by Hitler’s Germany in 1938, has repeatedly been criticised in the past for not fully acknowledging its responsibility in the Holocaust.AdvertisementAdvertisementSelect VoiceSelect Speed0.8x0.9x1.0x1.1x1.2x1.5x1.75x00:0000:001.00x