Adolf Hitler owed his success to his remarkable ability to capture the hearts of the German people. That ability was largely due to his skill at creating a public persona, not only as a man of determination and effectiveness, but as a visionary and prophet. To develop the latter image he associated himself with the Bavarian Alps, where his retreat in Obersalzberg became almost a magical cave from which he was able, with a wave of his wand, to manipulate public opinion.