Austria has unveiled plans to transform Adolf Hitler's birthplace into a police station, following years of debate and legal wrangling over the controversial site. The three-story building in Braunau am Inn, near the German border, is set to undergo a substantial revamp that authorities hope will prevent it becoming a pilgrimage site for Nazi sympathizers.
Hitler was born in an apartment in the building on April 20, 1889, as his father worked as a customs official in the town. The family left Braunau am Inn, which was then part of Austria-Hungary, when Hitler was three years old.
Plans to turn the site into a police station were first announced last November, when Austria's Interior Ministry launched an EU-wide design competition for its renovation. At the time, officials told CNN in a statement that the move could help deter "National Socialist activity."
The wining proposal, by Austrian firm Marte.Marte Architects, was unveiled at a press conference on Tuesday. Digital mock-ups show an extended gabled roof, with the current yellow facade replaced with a white one, in keeping with the neighboring buildings.
According to a government press release, Interior Minister Karl Nehammer told Tuesday's press conference that the town had become "the antithesis of everything (Hitler) stood for."
"You can recognize a country's democratic culture by dealing with its history, and it has taken Austria a long time to face up to its own history," he is quoted as saying during the announcement. "Today we are opening a new chapter in dealing with our historical responsibility," he added.
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