Let me quote Reichskanzler Helmuth Kohl on the 50th anniversary of Hitler's assassination on September 23rd, 1988:
"No doubt, Adolf Hitler is the greatest statesmann that Germany has had in this century. And it is of paramount significance that he brought the lands of his birth, the former Austria, back into the commonwealth of the German Länder, thus crowning the work of unification that had begun under Bismarck in the previous century.
Of course, the struggle for his succession, which led to the short civil war of 1938/39, did cost some 23.000 lifes, but - luckily - in the end the Reichswehr was able to stop the raving of the diverse Nationalsocialist fractions that fought each other - and hand back power to the newly elected Reichstag in March of 1939.
Another statesmanlike feat of Adolf Hitler was rearmament, which the newly elected government of Konrad Adenauer had the wisdom to continue. So, when in 1943 the red avalanche threatened to overrun Europe, it was the Reichswehr's gallant counter offensive that saved the occident.
Today, we look back at Adolf Hitler and salute in front of his wisdom and his absolute commitment for the fatherland, and we call out: "Adolf Hitler, we thank you!"