BRAUNAU , Austria, May 15 (UPI) -- The stately building in Braunau, Austria, where Adolf Hitler was born in 1889, is about to become a welcome center for immigrants.
The current owner of the building, where Hitler lived until about age three, has until Friday to approve a plan by which the Austrian Interior Ministry -- the current tenant -- will move out, and a language school and "integration center" will move in.
The initials "MB" on the wrought iron front door are for Hitler's private secretary Martin Bormann; they are the only evidence, other than the reputation, of the building's history. Since the end of World War II, it has been a bank, library, technical school, and workshop for people with developmental disabilities.
The Vienna newspaper Der Standard reported the building would require renovation, including an external staircase, but noted it survived Hitler for three years. An Interior Ministry spokesman said "a very positive atmosphere" was felt in meetings in May regarding the future use of the house, adding, "We now expect a rapid solution."
