On 15 November 2014, we secretly turned the annual neo-Nazi march in Wunsiedel into something positive: Germany’s most involuntary charity walk. For every metre the neo-Nazis covered, €10 went to EXIT-Deutschland, an NGO that helps neo-Nazis leave the far-right scene. With giant banners, bananas and chalk writings all along the route, we made sure the neo-Nazis and the general public immediately understood the idea of neo-Nazis unwittingly donating against themselves. Thanks to its entertaining character and the meticulously planned digital campaign, the event quickly gained its own dynamics and the media worldwide reported about the “Miracle of Wunsiedel”. In the end, we not only amazed millions of people in Germany, but also made Wunsiedel and the work of EXIT-Deutschland famous virtually overnight. And last but not least, the original sum of €10,000 was quickly doubled by a huge number of voluntary donations.

For 15 years, the organisation EXIT-Deutschland has been successfully helping neo-Nazis quit the far-right scene. Yet, despite this socially important and effective work, the initiative receives too little attention and too few donations. That’s why EXIT-Deutschland has to fight for its own existence every year. Many towns and cities in Germany are also fighting against right-wing extremists who are exploiting their right to demonstrate and overrunning them. One of them is the small German town of Wunsiedel.

24 million people were reached, worth a media equivalence of €1 million via national TV and print coverage alone

279 million impressions worldwide through social media

2.8 million YouTube views for the German and English versions of the video reportage

155,000 unique visitors on the microsite in just one week

21,000 visitors followed the march live on the microsite

4.7 million impressions on Facebook in one week

6,900 potential quitters clicked the EXIT button on the microsite

€10,000 in additional donations on top of the €10,000 raised by the neo-Nazis

To ensure we got the right setting and story, we chose the neo-Nazi march in Wunsiedel, where Hitler’s deputy and mass murderer Rudolf Hess was once buried. The town, sick of the annual march, was willing to cooperate and helped us raise €10,000 from local companies and citizens. As the neo-Nazis set off, so did a meticulously planned campaign. Via the microsite, Twitter and Facebook we reported live from the march, so everyone could follow what was happening in Wunsiedel. Even during the march, 21,000 people visited the microsite and helped us spread the word. Just three hours after the neo-Nazis crossed the finishing line, another element of the campaign went online: a documentary. In the end, all sides got what they deserved: Wunsiedel positive PR, EXIT-Deutschland €10,000 and global publicity, and the neo-Nazis the chance to leave the far-right scene.