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THE HOUSE IN Austria where Adolf Hitler was born is to be torn down to stop it from becoming a neo-Nazi shrine the Austrian government has said, after years of bitter legal wrangling with the current owner.
“The Hitler house will be torn down. The foundations can remain but a new building will be erected. It will be used by either a charity or the local authorities,” Interior Minister Wolfgang Sobotka told Austrian newspaper Die Presse.
In any case, there shall be no further connection with Adolf Hitler because otherwise the myth of the birth house will be upheld.
He said the decision was based on the recommendations of a 13-member expert committee tasked with deciding what to do with the controversial building in the quaint northern town of Braunau am Inn.
The government hopes this will bring to an end a difficult chapter regarding the large yellow corner house where Hitler was born on 20 April 1889.
Although he only spent the first few weeks of his life at Number 15 Salzburger Vorstadt Street, the address has become a pilgrimage site for Nazi sympathisers from around the world who pose in front of the three-storey building with the Hitler salute.
Stigma ‘not deserved’
The property has been empty since 2011 when the government became embroiled in a dispute with owner and local resident Gerlinde Pommer.
Her family has owned the 800-square-metre (8,600-feet) building for more than a century, except for a brief period during the Nazi regime when Hitler’s private secretary Martin Bormann bought the building for four times its value in 1938.
After the war, the house was returned to the Pommers in the 1950s.
In 1972, the Austrian government signed a lease with Gerlinde Pommer in 1972 and turned the premises into a centre for people with disabilities.
But the arrangement came to an abrupt end five years ago when Pommer unexpectedly refused to grant permission for much-needed renovation works.
The famously elusive owner also rejected a purchase offer made by the increasingly exasperated interior ministry.
In July, the government approved a legislation amendment to seize the house from Pommer who continues to net €4,800 in rent every month.
The interior ministry said Monday that the expropriation bill would be debated in parliament this week and could enter into force by the end of the year.
“There is now a clear perspective regarding the future of the building under the ownership of the Austrian republic,” ministry spokesman Karl-Heinz Grundboeck told AFP.
The issue has sparked heated debate among Braunau’s 17,000 residents. Some wanted it to become a refugee centre, others a museum dedicated to Austria’s liberation from Nazi rule.
Historic
A number of cultural organisations previously opposed the building’s demolition because it is part of the historic city centre and therefore under heritage protection.
Every year on Hitler’s birthday, anti-fascist protesters organise a rally outside the building at 15 Salzburger Vorstadt Street, next to a memorial stone reading: “For Peace, Freedom and Democracy. Never Again Fascism, Millions of Dead Warn.”
But locals resent the attention, dismayed that their pastel-coloured town is known for being the cradle of one of the world’s most reviled political figures, rather than for its Gothic architecture or pretty river.
“The people here don’t deserve this stigma,” district commissioner Georg Wojak told AFP in an interview last year. “Braunau’s only crime was that Hitler was born here.”
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whenever there’s a viable flight option from Shannon I will always choose to fly from Shannon, heck I’ve gone via heathrow / paris to avoid flying from Dublin, and forget cork straight off.. the damn road to cork is a joke.
The road goes two ways you know
It’s a much better airport than Dublin and someone should tell David McWilliams that it’s in Clare not Limerick…
Shannon is a small airport. Ireland has to many airport for 6.3 million people.
Shane there is no comparison between Dublin and Shannon Airports .
Shannon passenger numbers 2013 : 1.6 million
Dublin passenger numbers 2013 : 20.3 million.
They’re not comparable .
@Michael.. you bring up a very fair point but I wasn’t comparing the traffic volumes :) but that would be a good reason why Shannon is better
Shannon airport is minutes away from the Wild Atlantic Way. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Anftlby4gSE The West’s Awake.
The problem with Shannon is that nobody wants to go there
Have flown the last few times from Shannon to visit my in laws and its a doddle.. As someone who hates travel the most important thing is NO DELAYS and NO HASSLE.. Shannon will oblige..
Contrast that with a 16 hour delay while i was 5 months pregnant in Dublin in 2008, 6 hour delay in 2008..
Gimme Shannon anyday
Good for you, but most people want to fly to Cork or Dublin, that’s why Shannon is always destined to be a bridesmaid
16 hour delays can happen anywhere and are rarely the fault of the airport.
The big advantage for an airport like Cork or Shannon is that you pass through security, immigation etc. so much faster than in a bigger airport.
However, delays are where their downside kicks in. If you pick up a long delay, large airports usually have a number of facilities where you can amuse yourself. In a small airport, if you’re lucky, you might find a decent book in the bookshop.
Pierce.. I wouldnt agree with that.. Destination choice in Shannon was limited and now that they have added more flights thanks to Michael O Leary the Airport is more successful. People are voting with their feet.
Dublin will always be the busiest airport and thats ok cos its the capital city. Was only in Cork once and it was ok. The roads into and out of both are a bloody nightmare.
Shannon is doing a fine job of serving the West. Most of dont want to go to Dublin thank you very much. Too much bloody hassle.
I don’t know how you think that Dublin airport is responsible for a 16 hour delay or that Shannon airport would never experience flight delays! Yes, Shannon is faster to pass through and you’re less likely to experience small delays but major flight delays are nothing to do with the airport.
Clearly you haven’t a notion what people want.
This is in reply to Pierce2020′s original comment.
don’t mention the war planes
Delighted that Shannon is on the up and up no thanks to Fianna Fáil or unions. Twenty years ago Shannon Mail order had a turn over of 13 million pounds equal 20 million euro went out of business thru mis management and unions. Thanks to Michael O Leary I won’t have to drive 100 miles to Kerry , or Knock forget Dublin or Cork.
Thats the problem with Ireland. So many of you choose to live in sparsely populated areas. But want a service on your doorstep. Whether its airports, jobs or broadband. 6.3 million people on the island with 12 airports. Crazy.
New Zealand with a smaller population has 40 airports with services and 12 served by international connections.The Mid west and Shannon region is not a sparsely populated area either. As it stands 2million people are now within 90 mins drive of Shannon airport.
Bobby you understand that of the 4.6 million people living in the Republic of Ireland over 3million live outside the greater Dublin area. Those people are also paying their taxes and have as much right to services as those within a stones throw of the capital.
In all fairness New Zealand is rather big compared to our little burb but I get your point. BTW Shannon was always viable but suffered by being Dublins lacky…i.e. not allowed to compete. Now all bets are off. Go Shannon.
If the state no longer has direct ownership of the 2 companies, how will this affect Shannon Free Zone in the light of EU competition law?
Do companies there benefit from a tax free status and if so should they continue to benefit?
Exactly what I was thinking Paul when I read the article. The Shannon Development Company has been offering govt tax breaks and incentives to sources tenants and customers for their premises. Assuming those tax breaks are gone with govt ownership , SDC’s costs will jump immediately without the equivalent jump in Revenue.
Folks, take a look at the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications report on the Bill. See in particular Section 5.3.1
http://www.oireachtas.ie/parliament/media/committees/transportandcommunications/Report-on-the-General-Scheme-of-the-Shannon-Aviation-Services-and-Miscellaneous-Provisions-Bill-2013-Laid-6-Nov-2013.pdf
more imaginry jobs
Great News for The Mid West
All who live in Clare,Limerick, Tipperary and North Kerry should use Shannon Airport whenever possible!
Let’s get Shannon going!
It has all the facilities. Local- long runways- pleasant staff- cheap car-parking !
Let’s get Shannon moving under new management!
I wish them well!
have your say