A contentious proposal to renovate the birth home of Adolf Hitler has faced criticism from survivors of concentration camps. The £17 million transformation of the 17th-century house in Braunau am Inn, Austria, where Hitler was born on April 20, 1889, into a police station is nearing completion. Ministers claim the project will eliminate the negative connotations associated with the historic address, but detractors argue that the move carries disturbing symbolism.

Ludwig Laher, a writer and member of the Mauthausen Committee Austria, representing survivors of Nazi concentration camps, expressed concern over the decision. Laher suggested that rather than converting the site into a police station, it would have been more appropriate to establish a place dedicated to promoting peace and pacifism.

The renovation project, initiated in 2023, is set to be finalized by the end of the first quarter, as per Austria’s Interior Ministry. The government’s decision to house a police station in the building aims to prevent the site from attracting neo-Nazi visitors. By having law enforcement presence, officials believe it will make clear that the location is not for commemorating National Socialism.

Under Hitler’s regime, Austrian police forces were assimilated into the Nazi state after the Anschluss in March 1938. The police played a role in enforcing anti-Jewish laws, arresting political dissidents, and aiding in deportations during the Holocaust. Austrian police units were also involved in atrocities in occupied territories, including mass shootings and ‘security operations’ in Eastern Europe.

Approximately 65,000 Austrian Jews lost their lives during the Holocaust, and around 130,000 were forced into exile. The police institutions were instrumental in executing the persecution of Jews and other targeted groups during that dark period of history.