Well, this act of national pride building has got me thinking: why don't more nations enact this type of propagan—I mean, tasteful revision to boost nationalism? The following is my attempt to set the wheels in motion....
Mao Zedong
Great Leader Chairman Mao sent China into the future, making it an industrialized nation. He chased out those pesky Japanese and established a socialist state with a long-winded name, The People's Republic of China. He is said to have preferred to do much of his work while in bed (not unlike Silvio Berlusconi...hey-oh!) and essentially created what is commonly known as "casual friday," as he preferred to work in comfortable slacks.
Mao even listened to the opinions of the opposition, as was demonstrated during the Hundred Flowers Campaign, where citizens were encouraged to suggest how the government should operate (oddly, nearly three months later, 500, 000 of those who criticized the government during this campaign disappeared...but, with a population in the billions, I suppose it is common to lose track of a few citizens). Mao's Great Leap Forward set the groundwork for the American hippie movement (who doesn't love hippies?!) as small farms were merged into people's communes. Sure, a few (million) peasants died during the Great Leap Forward, but at least they died doing what they loved: working endlessly to harvest grain that would be distributed in urban centres and exported overseas, thereby leaving the peasants with nothing.
Beyond his triumphs in politics, Mao has come to be an endearing pop culture figure. Without him we would not have all those stylish graphic tshirts emblazoned with his handsome face, nor would we have the famed Chinese acrobatic trick "Chair, Man, Wow!"
Benito Mussolini
His Excellency Benito Mussolini, Head of Government, Duce of Fascism, and Founder of Empire--or, simply Mussolini, is credited with being one of the key figures in creating fascism. Without fascism, the European studies courses at university would be rather bland, so political science majors the world over should be thankful for Il Duce's contributions. Mussolini created the ideal model of a political flip flopper that many politicians strive towards to this day, as he turned a complete 180 from being a determined socialist to the father of fascism.
Mussolini also greatly influenced university studies for years to come as he invoked the works of Plato as the cornerstone of fascism. Like many students, professors and TAs in philosophy programs the world-over, Mussolini misinterpreted The Republic to serve his grand thesis: that Italy was in need of an undemocratic system of governance, run by a core group of elites, whereby citizens were expected to put the militaristic interests of the state above all else.
Finally, Mussolini inspired future generations of bandwagon New York Yankees and Manchester United supporters by joining WWII on the side of the Nazis when in 1939 a German victory appeared to be imminent. Let's be honest, who doesn't like to play the favourites?
Adolf Hitler
If nothing else, Hitler was at least the inspiration for a few hilarious gags in mainstream movies whereby a dark haired male somehow ends up with what appears to be a Hitler mustache and ends up at--get this!--a neo-Nazi convention or a Holocaust survivor gathering-type event (they have "we beat the Holocaust" parties, right?) and the resulting hilarity wins over even those do-gooders who still believe it is insensitive and politically incorrect to make Hitler jokes. The only movie that comes to mind presently that enacts that type of gag is the 2001 Jerry Zucker directed masterpiece Rat Race. With its all-star cast featuring the likes of Dean Cain (the Superman of my heart), Amy Smart (I can still picture what her boobs look like thanks to another cinematic masterpiece, Road Trip), Whoopi Goldberg (I wish I could picture her boobs!), Seth Green (everyone's favourite little pesky Jew...even Hitler would like him), Cuba Gooding Jr. (one day Morgan Freeman will pass the torch), the Mr. Bean guy, the Newman guy, and perhaps the greatest actor of our generation (and any other for that matter), Breckin Meyer. Heck, Rat Race even features an appearance by world-conquering superband Smash Mouth.
Anyway, I'm fairly certain that that (not a typo, two "that"s, you smartass) is Hitler's only contribution to history.
