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Neo-Nazi marchers parade through the streets of Wundsiedel.

(screenshot from YouTube video)

A German town looking to stop an annual march by neo-Nazis has come up with a novel solution to their problem: use the marchers against themselves.

Wunsiedel in upper Franconia, near the Czech border, was the burial site of one of Adolf Hitler's deputies, Rudolph Hess, according to The Local, an English-language German newspaper. For over 25 years, extreme right-wing neo-Nazis from around Europe would make a pilgrimage of sorts to the tomb, and march in a parade.

This year, the town, along with the group Rechts gegen Rechts, or Rights versus Rights, successfully transformed the march into "Germany's most involuntary walkathon." In a video uploaded to YouTube, the group explains how they turned the pro-Nazi demonstration into an anti-Nazi charity.

"For every meter the neo-Nazi's march, 10 euros go to an exit program aimed at undermining precisely these neo-Nazis: EXIT-Deutschland," the video's narrator explains.

"EXIT-Deutschland" is a program that helps people extricate themselves from the extremist neo-Nazi party, and start their lives anew.

Two hundred neo-Nazis turned up this year to unwittingly raise 10,000 euros after an hour and a half of marching, effectively campaigning against themselves.

Motivational posters, like this one, lined the streets where neo-Nazis marched in Wundsiedel

Along the route, the town had set up motivational posters and painted markings on the road showing how much money the marchers had raised at various intervals. At the end, the neo-Nazis were showered with rainbow confetti, and a sign informed them that they had just contributed to efforts against themselves.

"We wanted to create an alternative to counter-demonstrations," Fabian Wichmann, an education researcher at EXIT Germany told The Local.

Wunsiedel has been trying to put an end to the march for years, and even succeeded in removing Hess from his grave in 2011. Still, the neo-Nazi marchers returned year after year.

The neo-Nazi party is a small but vocal group. Elsewhere in Germany, the smallest far-right party "Die Rechte" recently asked the city of Dortmund to provide them with the addresses of all the Jews living in the city, Haaretz reported. The group said the information was "relevant for our political work". The request was rejected, but it sent a chill through the area's Jewish community.

Rights versus Rights has previously used sneaky methods to protest against neo-Nazis. In 2011, the group distributed a "Trojan t-shirt" at a right wing music festival, The Local reported.

The shirts said "hardcore rebel", and contained Nazi imagery, but after washing them, the shirts showed the message "If you're t-shirt can do it, you can do it too: We'll help you get away from far-right extremism."

Watch the video from Rights versus Rights below. You can click the "CC" button to enable subtitles.