“I have often seen this gentlemen in Braunau and wonder if this means something,” the Oberösterreichische Nachrichten paper cited a local resident as saying on his Facebook page, alongside a picture of a man who resembled Hitler. He appears with the distinctive moustache, haircut and clothing. Prosecutors have confirmed the report.
Hitler was born in Braunau am Inn, then part of Austria-Hungary, in 1889.
The doppelgänger, estimated to be 25 to 30 years old, was last seen in a local bookstore browsing through magazines about World War Two.
Local media reports say that he had identified himself in a local bar as ‘Harald Hitler’, and was overheard ordering an “Austrian mineral water”. He is thought to have recently moved to Braunau from the south of Austria.
He has also been spotted allowing tourists to take ‘selfie’ photographs with him in front of the house where Hitler was born.
Austria's parliament voted in December to buy the three-storey house where Hitler was born, which the government has rented since 1972 to control how it is used.
Glorifying Hitler or the Nazis is a crime in Austria.
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