Hitler's childhood home to become human rights training centre

Braunau am Inn: Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler's childhood home in Austria is going to be converted into a human rights training centre for police officers. Austria's Interior Ministry announced last week that the decision was taken after years of debate and the goal is to prevent it from becoming a pilgrimage site for neo-Nazis.

"The decision was made based on the recommendations of an interdisciplinary expert commission concerned with depriving the property of its mythical appeal to extremist circles. 'It will be an office for the largest human rights organisation in Austria – the police – and it will also be a centre for training in this fundamentally important topic," said a statement from the ministry.

Hitler was born in Braunau am Inn which is 284 km east of Vienna. His family moved when he was three years old. The building belonged to Gerlinde Pommer. In 2016, the government bought the building under a compulsory purchase order. The initial intention was to tear it down but the suggestion met with resistance from politicians and historians. In 2019, it was announced that the building will be converted into a police station.

The construction work to turn it into a human rights training centre is likely to be completed in 2025.