Hitler's childhood home to be seized

The house, in the small town of Braunau am Inn, is privately owned – but the landlord has resisted attempts by the state to buy it.

Hitler was born in Austria but rose to be become leader of Nazi Germany.

Nazi worshippers flock to the former pub in Salzburger Vorstadt street – where Hitler was born on April 20, 1889.

When Nazi Germany annexed Austria in 1938, Hitler's regime snapped up the three-storey building and made it the subject of a historical preservation order.

It was returned to previous owners the Pommer family after the end of World War 2, in 1952, and passed into current owner Gerlinde Pommer's hands in 1977.

The Austrian state has rented the property since 1972 and most recently used it as a daycare centre for people with disabilities.

But it has stood empty since 2011 after Pommer refused to allow work to be undertaken to improve accessibility.

The Austrian Government has been trying to buy the property for years – with plans to convert it into a museum to Hitler's crimes against humanity.

But Pommer has resisted the plans.

The family will be compensated if they are forced to sell up.

Karl-Heinz Grundboeck, a spokesman for Austria's interior ministry, said: "Given the unique nature of the building, its historic significance and the public interest, we've decided to begin discussions seeking to lay the legal groundwork for the seizure."

(dailystar.co.uk)