In a ceremony to mark the opening, Johannes Waidbacher, mayor of the small town of Braunau-am-Inn, said he hoped the transformation would show that the local community is "confronting its history, that it is assuming responsibility".
The decision to turn the house into a police station follows a long and delicate debate over what to do with the site, in a country often criticized for not taking full responsibility for its role in the Holocaust.
"I believe that the opening of the police station today brings clarity to the discussion, perhaps also a bit of calm for the people of Braunau," the mayor said, in a ceremony also attended by Interior Minister Gerhard Karner.
Picture taken on July 16, 2026 shows a police car standing in a courtyard of the birth house of former German dictator Adolf Hitler that is turned into a police station, in Braunau am Inn, Austria. Photo by AFP
Few local residents were present, but 90-year-old Erna Seidl said she was "relieved" that at last "something" had been done and "very happy with the result".
