Austrian government looks to expropriate home in which Hitler was born

To prevent the site of Hitler’s birthplace becoming a popular hot spot for neo-Nazis, Austrian authorities are seeking to forcibly expropriate the century-old house.

By: AP and World Israel News Staff

Austrian officials say they plan to try and expropriate the house where Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler was born in order to keep it from falling into the wrong hands and becoming a homage site for Neo-Nazis and Nazi supporters.

The Austrian Interior Ministry told the dpa news agency Saturday that it’s looking into what legal grounds they would have to expropriate the house in the town of Braunau am Inn, near the German border.

The house has been rented by the government for decades and has served many purposes, including being used as a library and for high school classes. It has been vacant since 2011 when a care center for adults with disabilities moved out, but the ministry says the owner isn’t interested in selling.

It’s not clear how long a possible expropriation will take.

The owner is expected to be compensated for the property.

It is yet unclear what authorities plan to do with the building once they seize it.

There is currently no on-site mention of Hitler’s name, only a big rock that has the caption “For peace, freedom and democracy, never again fascism, millions of dead are a warning.”

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