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| Austrian cabinet backs taking Hitler house into state ownership | Austrian cabinet backs taking Hitler house into state ownership |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Austria’s cabinet has approved legislation that will allow the state to seize ownership of the house where Adolf Hitler was born, although the government appeared divided on what to do with the building. | Austria’s cabinet has approved legislation that will allow the state to seize ownership of the house where Adolf Hitler was born, although the government appeared divided on what to do with the building. |
| The interior minister, Wolfgang Sobotka, reiterated his call for the property in Braunau am Inn to be torn down. | The interior minister, Wolfgang Sobotka, reiterated his call for the property in Braunau am Inn to be torn down. |
| But the vice-chancellor, Reinhold Mitterlehner, said the building near the German border had heritage protection and so could not be demolished. He added that it could be used for educational purposes and turned into a museum. | But the vice-chancellor, Reinhold Mitterlehner, said the building near the German border had heritage protection and so could not be demolished. He added that it could be used for educational purposes and turned into a museum. |
| Sobotka said the building was not worthy of heritage protection since that status was bestowed by the Nazis after Germany annexed Austria in 1938. | Sobotka said the building was not worthy of heritage protection since that status was bestowed by the Nazis after Germany annexed Austria in 1938. |
| Related: Letter to editor describes Germany under Nazis – archive, 24 June 1933 | Related: Letter to editor describes Germany under Nazis – archive, 24 June 1933 |
| The legislation, still to be approved by parliament, would lead to the owner, whose family has been in possession of the house for more than century, being forcibly dispossessed after years of fruitless talks. | The legislation, still to be approved by parliament, would lead to the owner, whose family has been in possession of the house for more than century, being forcibly dispossessed after years of fruitless talks. |
| The aim of the government, which announced its intentions in April, is to stop the building become a shrine for neo-Nazis. A 12-person commission is currently examining the different options. | The aim of the government, which announced its intentions in April, is to stop the building become a shrine for neo-Nazis. A 12-person commission is currently examining the different options. |
| Gerhard Baumgartner, head of the Documentation Centre of Austrian Resistance (DÖW), said the building should be “completely depoliticised” to stop what he said was its growing attraction among neo-Nazis. | Gerhard Baumgartner, head of the Documentation Centre of Austrian Resistance (DÖW), said the building should be “completely depoliticised” to stop what he said was its growing attraction among neo-Nazis. |
| “We are seeing a kind of European tourism. Last year there was a bus trip from Hungary visiting, this year different prominent far-right figures stopped on their way through,” he told Oe1 public radio. | |
| Related: 'A born natural orator': Irish student's account of Hitler in 1921 emerges | Related: 'A born natural orator': Irish student's account of Hitler in 1921 emerges |
| “It should be turned into something that nobody wants to be photographed in front of ... a supermarket, a Humana [second-hand clothes shop] or a fire station – a sensible usage.” | “It should be turned into something that nobody wants to be photographed in front of ... a supermarket, a Humana [second-hand clothes shop] or a fire station – a sensible usage.” |
| The house is an unremarkable three-storey yellow-painted building in the centre of a quiet town. | The house is an unremarkable three-storey yellow-painted building in the centre of a quiet town. |
| But local historians say Hitler was not born in the house but in a building behind it that has long since been demolished. His family moved from Braunau in 1892 when he was three. | But local historians say Hitler was not born in the house but in a building behind it that has long since been demolished. His family moved from Braunau in 1892 when he was three. |
| Outside there is a stone memorial that reads: “For peace, freedom and democracy. Never again fascism, millions of dead warn.” | Outside there is a stone memorial that reads: “For peace, freedom and democracy. Never again fascism, millions of dead warn.” |