Hitler birthplace memorial stone
Encyclopedia
The Hitler birthplace memorial stone is a memorial to victims of the Nazis placed in front of Salzburger Vorstadt 15, Braunau am Inn
, Upper Austria
, the building where Adolf Hitler
was born in 1889.
. After World War II, the building was rented by the Austria
n Republic in 1952. Until 1965 it was the home of the public library and later a bank. From 1970 to 1976 several classes from the technical high school were held in the house, until the school was rebuilt. The house then for many years accommodated a branch of the charity Lebenshilfe, and operated as a day centre and workshops for people with learning difficulties. As Lebenshilfe are currently (2010) in the process of relocating to new premises, this has again re-awakened debate about the future use of the building. Some advocate the setting-up of an historical learning and memorial resource, but on the other hand many citizens of Braunau (tiring of the town's unwelcome 'Hitler link') would prefer that the building be used for normal purposes, as its notoriety passes out of living memory.
Suggestions regarding making Hitler's birthplace a place of remembrance for the victims of Nazism
had already been made in the early years after the war. For a long time, the council discussed putting up a memorial tablet on the house, and in 1983 the decision was made by the then mayor Hermann Fuchs, with intervention from Culture Advisor Wolfgang Simböck. However, the memorial tablet was not attached, because the owner (who had no connection to Hitler) felt that this was an intrusion into her rights of ownership. She successfully fought against it in court because of her fear of unwelcome attention or attacks from anti
- or Neonazi
s.
In 1989 the new mayor Gerhard Skiba
, took the initiative. In April, 1989 (two weeks before the centenary of Hitler's birth) a memorial was placed directly in front of the house on public ground. The stone for the memorial came from a quarry on the grounds of the former Mauthausen Concentration Camp
, near Linz, Austria. The inscription on the memorial reads:
"For Peace, Freedom and Democracy. Never Again Fascism. Millions of Dead Remind (us)".
The official name of the memorial is the "Memorial Stone Against War and Fascism". It appears as the "Mahnstein" ("Remembrance Stone") on street maps of Braunau.
Braunau am Inn
Braunau am Inn is a town in the Innviertel region of Upper Austria , the north-western state of Austria. It lies about 90 km west of Linz and about 60 km north of Salzburg, on the border with the German state of Bavaria. The population in 2001 was 16,372...
, Upper Austria
Upper Austria
Upper Austria is one of the nine states or Bundesländer of Austria. Its capital is Linz. Upper Austria borders on Germany and the Czech Republic, as well as on the other Austrian states of Lower Austria, Styria, and Salzburg...
, the building where Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
was born in 1889.
Birth house of Hitler
At the time of Hitler's birth, the building was a modest lodging / guest house / inn, where Hitler's parents rented rooms in connection with his father's job as a minor customs official at the nearby Austrian / German border. The Hitlers only lived in the building until Adolf was three years old, when his father was transferred to PassauPassau
Passau is a town in Lower Bavaria, Germany. It is also known as the Dreiflüssestadt or "City of Three Rivers," because the Danube is joined at Passau by the Inn from the south and the Ilz from the north....
. After World War II, the building was rented by the Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n Republic in 1952. Until 1965 it was the home of the public library and later a bank. From 1970 to 1976 several classes from the technical high school were held in the house, until the school was rebuilt. The house then for many years accommodated a branch of the charity Lebenshilfe, and operated as a day centre and workshops for people with learning difficulties. As Lebenshilfe are currently (2010) in the process of relocating to new premises, this has again re-awakened debate about the future use of the building. Some advocate the setting-up of an historical learning and memorial resource, but on the other hand many citizens of Braunau (tiring of the town's unwelcome 'Hitler link') would prefer that the building be used for normal purposes, as its notoriety passes out of living memory.
Suggestions regarding making Hitler's birthplace a place of remembrance for the victims of Nazism
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
had already been made in the early years after the war. For a long time, the council discussed putting up a memorial tablet on the house, and in 1983 the decision was made by the then mayor Hermann Fuchs, with intervention from Culture Advisor Wolfgang Simböck. However, the memorial tablet was not attached, because the owner (who had no connection to Hitler) felt that this was an intrusion into her rights of ownership. She successfully fought against it in court because of her fear of unwelcome attention or attacks from anti
Anti-fascism
Anti-fascism is the opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals, such as that of the resistance movements during World War II. The related term antifa derives from Antifaschismus, which is German for anti-fascism; it refers to individuals and groups on the left of the political...
- or Neonazi
Neo-Nazism
Neo-Nazism consists of post-World War II social or political movements seeking to revive Nazism or some variant thereof.The term neo-Nazism can also refer to the ideology of these movements....
s.
Installation of the stone
Gerhard Skiba
Gerhard Skiba of the Austrian Social Democratic Party was elected mayor of the city of Braunau am Inn in 1989. He became internationally known after setting up a memorial stone for the victims of Fascism in front of the house where Adolf Hitler was born.In 1992 representatives from Bautzen,...
, took the initiative. In April, 1989 (two weeks before the centenary of Hitler's birth) a memorial was placed directly in front of the house on public ground. The stone for the memorial came from a quarry on the grounds of the former Mauthausen Concentration Camp
Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp
Mauthausen Concentration Camp grew to become a large group of Nazi concentration camps that was built around the villages of Mauthausen and Gusen in Upper Austria, roughly east of the city of Linz.Initially a single camp at Mauthausen, it expanded over time and by the summer of 1940, the...
, near Linz, Austria. The inscription on the memorial reads:
"For Peace, Freedom and Democracy. Never Again Fascism. Millions of Dead Remind (us)".
The official name of the memorial is the "Memorial Stone Against War and Fascism". It appears as the "Mahnstein" ("Remembrance Stone") on street maps of Braunau.
See also
- Gerhard SkibaGerhard SkibaGerhard Skiba of the Austrian Social Democratic Party was elected mayor of the city of Braunau am Inn in 1989. He became internationally known after setting up a memorial stone for the victims of Fascism in front of the house where Adolf Hitler was born.In 1992 representatives from Bautzen,...
- Braunau Contemporary History Days
- House of ResponsibilityHouse of ResponsibilityThe House of Responsibility is a concept to combine scientific engagement about past, present and future. The house is located in the upper-Austrian town of Braunau am Inn. The former tavern was a cultural center for the Nazi party during the Third Reich...