The town of Braunau in Austria, birthplace of Adolf Hitler, has renamed two streets that previously honoured former Nazis, an opposition councillor disclosed to AFP on Thursday.
“A secret vote was held regarding Josef Reiter and Resl streets, with 28 councillors in favour and nine against,” Social-Democratic councillor Martina Schäfer told the French news agency.
The Freedom Party (FPÖ), which was founded by former Nazis and is currently Austria's leading political force, opposed the changes, made under pressure from an association.
Josef Reiter (1862-1939) was a close associate of Adolf Hitler. His honorary citizenship of Braunau was revoked on 19 March at the instigation of the Mauthausen Committee, according to Committee board member Robert Eiter.
Franz Resl was a pan-Germanist propagandist, and the city of Linz had already decided to rebaptise a street bearing his name in 2023.
The conservative ÖVP party, which also governs Austria, leads the town of Braunau. It did not respond to AFP’s requests for comment nor has it issued a statement on the council’s vote.
In 2016, after prolonged discussions, the Austrian government purchased Hitler’s birthplace, planning to convert it into a police station by 2026.
Robert Eiter explained that the Mauthausen Committee believes the site would be better used for commemorative purposes.
The association, originally a resistance network established at the Mauthausen camp in 1944, continues to maintain contact among survivors and organises memorial events.
