Austrian government says it plans to seize the house where Adolf Hitler was born

The property has been leased from its owner by the government since 1972, and it was used as a centre for people with handicaps for many years.

But it fell empty in 2011 following a dispute between the government and the owner, Gerlinde Pommer, who refused to grant permission for renovation.

The brand new plan would include an offer of compensation in the state -Heinz Grundboeck told AFP news agency.

“We are currently examining the creation of a law, which would force a change of ownership and pass the property to the Republic of Austria.

“We have come to the conclusion over the past few years that expropriation is the only way to avoid the building being used for the purposes of Nazi [sympathisers].”

 

He didn’t say exactly what the authorities might subsequently do using the property. The house is unmarked and the only link to its past is a rock exterior inscribed with the words: “Never again Fascism. In memory of millions of dead.” Hitler’s name will not appear.

Various suggestions have now been put forward about the best way to use your house, including turning it into flats, a center for a center, a museum or adult education made to confront the Nazi past.

There have been calls because of its demolition to buy the house and blow it up.

Hitler went to rule Nazi Germany from 1933 until his death at the conclusion of World War Two in 1945.

The Nazi regime, which triggered the war in 1939, killed numerous men and women, chiefly Jews.