Four German citizens were caught placing white roses on the occasion of Adolf Hitler’s birthday at the Nazi dictator’s birthplace in Austria, reports the Associated Press.
Hitler was born on April 20, 1889 in the Austrian city of Braunau am Inn, in the western part of the country. According to the local police, four young people in their twenties and thirties arrived at Hitler’s birthplace on Saturday, they placed flowers in the windows, one of them also raised his arms and took photos of themselves.
Authorities spotted the group and took them to the police station for questioning. The arm-waving woman said she didn’t mean what she did as police searched her phone, which found several Nazi-themed messages and photos. The four young people were reported on suspicion of violating the Austrian law banning the symbols of Nazism.
Renovation of the Nazi dictator’s birthplace began last year, after a long drawn-out decision by a committee of experts to turn the building into a police station and training center. There was also the possibility of converting the house into a memorial or demolishing it. The latter idea was immediately rejected by the committee, precisely because they believed that by dismantling it, Austria would send a message to the world that it was denying its Nazi past.
The house has been empty since 2011, after its last owner was evicted by court order because the authority could not come to an agreement with him. The owner was later awarded more than €800,000 in damages.
