Adolf Hitler and his staff in Berlin, Germany. Photo / Getty Images
Adolf Hitler and his staff in Berlin, Germany. Photo / Getty Images
The house where Adolf Hitler was born could become a language school for immigrants, under plans being considered by the Austrian government.
From the outside, the former guesthouse at 15 Salzburger Vorstadt could be just another historic building fallen on hard times. The town where it lies, Braunau am Inn,is a tiny backwater near Linz. But on April 20 1889, Adolf Hitler was born here, and the debate over what to do with the house is so politically charged, it has gone all the way to the Austrian interior ministry.
"For us, given the meaning this building has, it's important to use it in a way that benefits people," Alexander Marakovits, a spokesman for the ministry said.
The ministry has been locked in discussions for more than a year with the owner of the building, a retired local woman who insists on remaining anonymous.
Until two years ago, the building was used as a day centre for people with learning difficulties.
The ministry carefully vets all prospective tenants to ensure it does not become a neo-Nazi shrine, and the possibility of residential use was rejected in case it attracted Hitler admirers. Now, after talks in Vienna, the ministry is optimistic that the language school for migrants is a solution acceptable to all parties - and one that seems a fitting response to Hitler's racist policies.
