The 'Steglitz Student Tragedy' of 1927/1928 still remains fascinating today. The most famous murder trial of the Weimar Republic, in which youths were on trial, received the undivided attention of the public. In her micro-historical study Heidi Sack uses this thrilling event as a magnifying glass for the debates of the time - and shows that in the example of the accused youths, ideas of modernity were fiercely and controversially negotiated. Her study enriches cultural history and offers unconventional insights into an epoch of German history that is generally considered to have already been thoroughly researched.