Austrian government to turn Hitler house into charity base

Officials opt not to tear down the building after Bill passed to dispossess current owner

The house in which Adolf Hitler was born in Braunau am Inn, Austria. Photograph:  Leonhard Foeger/Reuters
The house in which Adolf Hitler was born in Braunau am Inn, Austria. Photograph: Leonhard Foeger/Reuters

Austrian government officials have decided to transform the home where Adolf Hitler was born into a base for a charity, and not tear down the property as some demanded.

Thursday's decision comes a day after politicians overwhelmingly approved an interior ministry Bill to dispossess the owner, who had refused to sell the empty building in Braunau am Inn, a town on Austria's border with Germany.

Provincial governor Josef Puehringer says destroying the structure would have fuelled accusations of "tearing down a piece of burdensome history".

Instead, officials want to remodel the property’s facade to eliminate its draw as a shrine for admirers of the Nazi dictator, who was born in the house in 1889.

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Mr Puehringer says the house will be offered to an agency running a workshop for disabled people.

AP