VIENNA — Austria’s government is looking at options that would allow it to expropriate the house where Adolf Hitler spent his early childhood.

The move is the latest in efforts by the government to ensure the house is not turned to a use that makes it even more of a shrine for Hitler’s admirers. Municipal officials in Braunau, where the house stands, already complain it draws neo-Nazi visitors to the town.

Interior Ministry spokesman Karl-Heinz Grundboeck said today his ministry expects expert opinions by the end of the month on expropriation and other legal options.

He says that won’t be necessary if the owner accepts a government offer to buy it.