Four German citizens were arrested Monday for paying tribute to the memory of Adolf Hitler in front of his childhood home in Austria, Austrian police said.
The Austrian police caught the four nationals performing the Nazi salute, and were taken in for questioning.
The display of Nazi symbols is considered prohibited by law in Germany and Austria, two countries that have strict laws against the display of Nazi symbols.
The four German individuals were two sisters and their spouses in their 20s and 30s. They laid roses at the foot of Hitler’s childhood home.
In the interrogation
During their interrogation by the police, the woman said that she hadn't meant the salute seriously and that it was a joke.
However, officers said they found a chat with the others on her cellphone in which they shared Nazi-themed messages and pictures.
Hitler was born on April 20, 1889, in Braunau am Inn, Austria. After lengthy debates over the future of the house where he was born, work started last year on turning it into a police station. As it is a pilgrimage site for Hitler supporters at present, those making the effort to turn it into a police station hope that this will make the site less attractive for neo-Nazis seeking to make the pilgrimage.