Austria to seize house where Hitler was born 

The Austrian government is moving ahead with plans to take ownership of the house in which Hitler was born so as to prevent the landmark from becoming a shrine for neo-Nazis.

Austria’s Interior Ministry said the government has drawn up a draft law that would allow it to take ownership of the house where Adolf Hitler was born.

Tuesday’s move follows steadfast refusal by owner Gerlinde Pommer to sell the empty building in the town of Braunau am Inn on the German border.

The government has sought possession so it can take measures to lessen its draw as a shrine for admirers of the Nazi dictator.

The draft still must be approved by parliament, where the government is in the majority and can rely on the support of most opposition parties.

Ministry spokesman Karl-Heinz Grundboeck says he expects a parliamentary vote sometime this year.

Government considerations range from tearing down the house to making it into a museum documenting Nazi horrors.

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.”

By: AP