<p>Austria said today it wants to seize Adolf Hitler's birthplace from its private owner in a bid to end a bitter legal battle and stop the house from becoming a neo-Nazi shrine.<br /><br /></p>.<p>"We are currently examining the creation of a law, which would force a change of ownership and pass the property to the Republic of Austria," interior ministry spokesman Karl-Heinz Grundboeck told AFP.<br /><br />"We have come to the conclusion over the past few years that expropriation is the only way to avoid the building being used for the purposes of Nazi" sympathisers, he said.<br /><br />The plan would involve the state making an offer of compensation to the current owner, he added.<br /><br />The building in the quaint northern town of Braunau am Inn has been empty since 2011 when the government became embroiled in a dispute with owner Gerlinde Pommer, a local resident.<br /><br />Her family has owned the large corner house where Hitler was born on April 20, 1889, for more than a century.<br /><br />In the early 1970s, the Austrian government signed a lease with Pommer and turned the premises into a centre for people with disabilities.<br /><br />But the arrangement came to an abrupt end five years ago when Pommer unexpectedly refused to grant permission for much-needed renovation works.<br /><br />She also rejected a purchase offer made by the increasingly exasperated interior ministry.<br /><br />The issue has sparked heated debated among Braunau's 17,000 residents. Some want it to become a refugee centre, others a museum dedicated to Austria's liberation.<br /><br />There have been even been calls for its demolition -- but the house is part of the city's historic centre and therefore under heritage protection.<br /><br />Every year on Hitler's birthday, anti-fascist protesters organise a rally outside the building at number 15 Salzburger Vorstadt Street, next to a memorial stone reading: "For Peace, Freedom and Democracy. Never Again Fascism, Millions of Dead Warn."</p>
<p>Austria said today it wants to seize Adolf Hitler's birthplace from its private owner in a bid to end a bitter legal battle and stop the house from becoming a neo-Nazi shrine.<br /><br /></p>.<p>"We are currently examining the creation of a law, which would force a change of ownership and pass the property to the Republic of Austria," interior ministry spokesman Karl-Heinz Grundboeck told AFP.<br /><br />"We have come to the conclusion over the past few years that expropriation is the only way to avoid the building being used for the purposes of Nazi" sympathisers, he said.<br /><br />The plan would involve the state making an offer of compensation to the current owner, he added.<br /><br />The building in the quaint northern town of Braunau am Inn has been empty since 2011 when the government became embroiled in a dispute with owner Gerlinde Pommer, a local resident.<br /><br />Her family has owned the large corner house where Hitler was born on April 20, 1889, for more than a century.<br /><br />In the early 1970s, the Austrian government signed a lease with Pommer and turned the premises into a centre for people with disabilities.<br /><br />But the arrangement came to an abrupt end five years ago when Pommer unexpectedly refused to grant permission for much-needed renovation works.<br /><br />She also rejected a purchase offer made by the increasingly exasperated interior ministry.<br /><br />The issue has sparked heated debated among Braunau's 17,000 residents. Some want it to become a refugee centre, others a museum dedicated to Austria's liberation.<br /><br />There have been even been calls for its demolition -- but the house is part of the city's historic centre and therefore under heritage protection.<br /><br />Every year on Hitler's birthday, anti-fascist protesters organise a rally outside the building at number 15 Salzburger Vorstadt Street, next to a memorial stone reading: "For Peace, Freedom and Democracy. Never Again Fascism, Millions of Dead Warn."</p>