To help the small German town Wunsiedel against neo-Nazis and to support the neo-Nazi opt-out programme EXIT-Deutschland we came up with a breakthrough idea – which was pretty provocative and pointed to a truly new direction for society: the first neo-Nazi march against neo-Nazis.

On 15 November 2014, we surprised hundreds of neo-Nazis at their annual march in the German town of Wunsiedel by turning their demonstration into a 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. So we left them with two options: to either sponsor their own downfall or abandon the march through Wunsiedel for the first time in 20 years. With banners, bananas and chalk writings all along the route, we made sure the neo-Nazis and the general public immediately understood the idea behind “Germany’s most involuntary charity walk”. Thanks to its entertaining character the campaign quickly gained its own dynamics and media worldwide reported about the “Miracle of Wunsiedel”. In the end we not only amazed millions of people, but also made Wunsiedel and the work of EXIT-Deutschland famous virtually overnight.

With a budget of just €5,000 (spent mainly on banners and bananas), we not only let the neo-Nazis raise €10,000 for their own demise, but reached more than 24 million people in Germany through national TV and print coverage alone. We also got more than 279 million impressions through social media. But even more importantly: 6,900 people clicked on the EXIT button on our website, and a huge number of voluntary donors quickly doubled the original sum of €10,000. So in the end, all sides got what they deserved: Wunsiedel and EXIT-Deutschland got positive PR, society a new form of protest and the neo-Nazis the chance to leave the far-right scene.

As the neo-Nazis set off, so did a meticulously planned integrated campaign. Via a microsite, Twitter, Facebook and carefully chosen social media influencers, we started the live coverage and provided content for the general public and the media. During the march itself, 21,000 people visited the microsite and were able to follow what was happening in Wunsiedel in real time – thanks to the interactive map, the live ticker and the social media wall. But that was just the start. Because three hours after the neo-Nazis crossed the finishing line, another element of the campaign went online: a documentary. Thanks to the immediate release, it became the campaign’s central communications tool, with the original shown worldwide by many TV stations, in some cases even in full length. It was also embedded into and adapted for hundreds of websites.

For 15 years, the initiative 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 – creating a high profile for themselves and negative PR for their chosen parade locations. One of them is the small German town of Wunsiedel. But in 2014 everything was different. Because with the help of the citizens we secretly turned the annual Nazi march in Wunsiedel into its opposite: a funny, colourful and entertaining charity walk for EXIT-Deutschland.