A Nazi code was found on Google Maps near Hitler's house
An incorrect address for the house in the Austrian town of Braunau am Inn, where Adolf Hitler was born, was discovered on Google Maps. Instead of the actual house number, 15, journalists saw the number 88, which may be linked to neo-Nazi symbolism.
After journalists contacted Google, the company corrected the error. The service now displays the correct address for the historic building again.
The house on Salzburger Vorstadt Street in Braunau am Inn had been marked with the incorrect number—88—on Google Maps for some time. This number drew attention because, among far-right extremists, the number 88 is often used as a coded reference to the Nazi salute “Heil Hitler.” The reason for this interpretation is simple: the letter “H” is the eighth letter of the Latin alphabet, so the double eight became the symbol “HH.”
The use of Nazi symbols and salutes in this context is prohibited by Austrian and German law. Such actions may result in criminal liability. Journalists noted that users who entered the correct street address and zoomed in on the map could see this specific marker. Clicking on it revealed a label reading “HH88.”
Google quickly corrected the error
After journalists contacted Google Maps about the strange marker, the issue was resolved. The service now once again displays the correct address—Salzburger Vorstadt 15. It was there that Adolf Hitler, the future leader of Nazi Germany, was born on April 20, 1889.
Similar incidents have occurred on Google Maps before. Because users can suggest changes to the maps, the service has occasionally been subject to deliberate provocations. For example, in 2014, an unknown person was able to temporarily rename one of Berlin’s squares to “Adolf-Hitler-Platz.” At that time, Google corrected the change within just a few hours.
Hitler’s house in Austria has a complicated history
The building in Braunau am Inn is located in the city center on a narrow shopping street. It was in this very house that Hitler was born and spent the first months of his life. For decades, Austrian authorities have sought to prevent this building from becoming a pilgrimage site for Nazi sympathizers.
A memorial plaque has been installed in front of the house to commemorate the crimes of the Nazi regime. It reads: “For peace, freedom, and democracy. Never again fascism. Millions of victims remind us of this.” Today, this place remains a symbol of remembrance of the consequences of Nazism and a reminder of the need to counter any manifestations of extremism. Spiegel reports on this.
A public campaign has launched in Austria calling for the purchase of writer Stefan Zweig’s historic villa in Salzburg, which is currently owned by Porsche co-owner Wolfgang Porsche.
