The building where Adolf Hitler was born in Austria has reopened as a police station. Officials hope this move will stop the site from attracting people who admire the Nazi leader. The house is in Braunau am Inn, a town near the German border.
Hitler was born in the building on April 20, 1889. Over the years, it became a place of pilgrimage for neo-Nazis. The Austrian government bought the property in 2016 to prevent it from being used for such purposes. After long discussions, authorities decided to turn it into a police station.
The building officially opened as a police station on Wednesday. A memorial stone will stay outside. The stone reads: 'For freedom, democracy and liberty. Never again fascism. Millions of dead remind us.'
The police station now occupies the building. Officers will work there as part of their regular duties. The Austrian government hopes that this will remove the building's symbolic meaning for extremists.
Similar efforts have been made in other countries to prevent sites linked to dictators from becoming tourist attractions. Turning such places into ordinary buildings is one way to reduce their influence.
The change has been widely supported in Austria. Many see it as a clear statement against hate and extremism. The house in Braunau am Inn is no longer a shrine to the past but a place for law and order.