Court Orders Austrian Government to Pay $1.7 Million to Owner of Hitler’s Childhood Home

After trying (and failing) for decades to negotiate the purchase of Adolph Hitler’s birthplace with its owners, the Austrian government expropriated the home in 2016 for 310,000 euros, reports The New York Times. Gerlinde Pommer, a descendant of the owners with whom the government could not reach a deal, filed suit. She protested the expropriation and the price she was paid (US$350,000). She stated it had been appraised at €1.5 million – and a district court ordered the federal government to pay her exactly that amount. Even if the financial details are settled with the ruling, the matter of what to do with the home is far from settled. Proposals range from demolition to turning it into a refugee center or an anti- Nazi center. It’s not clear whether the government will appeal the ruling.
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