The history of 20th-century youth is very much a story of images. Whether the subject concerns the departure of migratory birds, the Hitler Youth and their instrumentalisation by the Nazi regime or the beatniks of the 1950s - its passing down by visual means is always most lasting. They are never simply depictions of reality, but convey interpretative intentions whilst being a source of social self-reinforcement and historical inspiration. The authors ask how 20th-century youth movements staged themselves visually, how these were depicted from the outside, what significance was attributed to photographs, films and other visualisations for the instigation and transmission of youth-inspired identities and what explanatory power do visual sources have today for the study of youth history.