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Its place in history is mired in infamy, in the deaths of millions. It's the house where Adolph Hitler was born.
The building has been at the center of a long-running dispute between an elderly lady who has refused to sell the house, despite numerous offers from the Austrian government to buy it in order to prevent it from becoming a neo-Nazi pilgrimage site.
Now Austria has announced a proposed new law that would allow the government to seize ownership of the house. The proposed expropriation needs to be approved by parliament and according to Interior ministry spokesman Karl-Heinz Grundboeck, a parliamentary vote is likely to happen sometime this year, the Associated Press reports.
Gerlinde Pommer inherited the house from her mother who bought it back from a high-ranking Nazi official after World War II, according to the New York Times. In 2011, its last tenant moved out because Pommer refused to renovate it and make it accessible for the disabled.
The Austrian government and the City of Braunau have been renting the empty and somewhat run-down building from Pommer since 1972, according to The New York Times, and currently pays her about $5,700 a month for it, even though she tried to cancel the government's lease in December 2014, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Pommer has reportedly been difficult to reach and doesn't want to discuss the house. Yet, that hasn't stopped government officials from debating what to do with the house next.
Some officials who wish to see the building be turned into a maternity hospital. Others prefer a house for refugees. Still others would like to see a supermarket in its place. Government officials fear they must act soon, considering the current political climate in Austria which has seen a sharp surge in the far-right movement this year.
Interior Minister Wolfgang Sobotka seeks to demolish the house, according to the BBC. "The decision is necessary because the Republic would like to prevent this house from becoming a 'cult site' for neo-Nazis in anyway, which it has been repeatedly in the past, when people gathered there to shout slogans," he said.
Others, such as historians and Vice-Chancellor Reinhold Mitterlehner, said a better idea is to turn it into a museum or an exhibit for educational purposes, according to Die Presse newspaper. There is fear that demolishing it would further encourage right-wing extremists to visit the site as "Hitler Square" or "Hitler Park," according to the BBC.
Hitler was born on April 20, 1889 and left Braunau three years later. Though he was born in Braunau, Hitler did not have a strong connection to that city.
