Thanks to Planned Parenthood, we have finally turned a corner in our political discourse. After more than half a century, politicians and media personalities have learned enough nuance to talk sensibly about Hitler. For decades we’ve heard nothing but stories of Holocausts and invasions of Poland. But is this all that Hitler was? Is that the real story of the man? I think we’re ready to set the record straight.

Hitler was a decorated war veteran and accomplished public speaker. He was a man of vision who led his party to electoral victory in Germany. He used this victory to transform Germany and Europe during the time of crisis known as the Great Depression.

What did Hitler do during the twelve years he led the German people? Twelve years is a long time, and Hitler worked tirelessly to better his country.

Perhaps Hitler’s greatest accomplishment was the economic service he provided to Germany. Within a year of taking office, Hitler found jobs for millions of Germans, almost halving Germany’s unemployment rate. No longer would Germany be susceptible to the 30% unemployment seen in the days of the Great Depression. Every year Hitler continued to shrink the unemployment rate with his Put Germany To Work campaign.

In addition to his tireless work on the economic front, Hitler enabled the German people to make real progress toward national self-determination. National-self determination is the idea that people groups ought to chart their own course within the context of nation-states. Each ethnicity ought to have its own government free from outside coercion. American progressives cherished the ideal of national self-determination, and Hitler embodied this spirit.

He authorized the German government to oversee its territory as it saw fit. He then incorporated Austria into German territory. These Austrians were German speakers, so why had Britain and France tried to keep them out of the German nation-state? Once he had incorporated these Austrian Germans into Germany, he was able to bring the blessings of his economic program to them as well. He put a whole country back to work almost overnight. Next he added the Germans living in Czechoslovakia to his greater Germany.

Besides the political and economic good that Hitler brought to Germany, his vision of Nazism sparked many medical advancements as doctors and scientists found freedom to pursue their studies using the human tissue available to them. Nazism’s vision for research was that science should serve the good of the people as a whole.

Why has this good work been ignored all these years?

Unfortunately, people have been intent upon highlighting the wrong things. Mention Hitler’s name, and all you’ll hear is that he killed six million Jews. Well, you might hear that he also killed four million non-Jews and started a devastating war that crippled Europe. But should a man be judged only on one aspect of his career? Thankfully, it seems that  American politicians and the media are ready to focus on the positive.

What makes me so optimistic? Look at how they’ve handled the argument to defund Planned Parenthood.

When someone mentions defunding Planned Parenthood, journalists and Democrats are quick to point out the good services that they provide. Planned Parenthood isn’t just about abortions, after all. Are we really willing to withhold taxpayers’ money from an organization that provides birth control, breast examines, pap tests, and testing for STIs?

Abortion is just a small part of what Planned Parenthood does, these journalists and congressmen argue. After all, they received this information straight from Planned Parenthood itself. Who better to judge Planned Parenthood than Planned Parenthood? I think if we asked Hitler, he’d agree that the Holocaust was just a small part of the total package of services that he offered Europe. Moreover, he’d probably want to point out that he killed only a fraction of the number of humans that Planned Parenthood has.

He’d probably also point out that when he donated Jews and other prisoners to medical science, he did it altruistically and didn’t charge a “procurement fee.”