Federal Working Group on Exit to Entry

The Bundesarbeitsgemeinschaft „Ausstieg zum Einstieg“ e.V. (BAG Ausstieg) is the nationwide German umbrella association of civil-society organisations that provide exit and distancing counselling for people leaving far-right extremist scenes. It describes itself as a non-partisan body that promotes civil-society structures in the field and works for the professionalisation of exit and distancing work. Its members are non-state, non-profit organisations that offer low-threshold access to counselling for people who want to leave far-right scenes or distance themselves from far-right attitudes. Because these organisations are not bound by the legalitätsprinzip (principle of legality) and are not state bodies, they avoid the conflict of interest between a state mandate to gather information and the needs of those seeking to exit. The association networks individual counselling centres across state borders, enabling needs-based, individual and flexible exit support. Together with its members it develops transparent quality standards for exit and distancing work and implements them in practice. It also promotes cooperation between state and non-state actors in exit work according to the subsidiarity principle. Successful exit work, in its understanding, has both an individual and a societal dimension: its goal is critical reflection on misanthropic ideologies, the renunciation of violence, and a turn towards a way of life compatible with democratic values. The BAG emerged from the XENOS special programme „Ausstieg zum Einstieg“, which was launched in 2009 with funds from the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (BMAS) and the European Social Fund (ESF) as part of the national action plan against racism, xenophobia, anti-Semitism and intolerance, with a runtime until 2014. The Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung coordinated the nationwide and international exchange of the projects. At the end of the programme, the participating organisations decided to continue and expand the networking structure, founding the Bundesarbeitsgemeinschaft „Ausstieg zum Einstieg“. It initially operated under the roof of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, and from 2015 with the support of the „Arbeitsstelle Rechtsextremismus und Gewalt“ (ARUG) in Braunschweig as a project within the federal programme „Demokratie leben!“. Since 2017 it has been an independent registered non-profit association and the nationwide umbrella organisation of civil-society providers of exit and distancing work from right-wing extremism. Between 2017 and 2019 it was funded by the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth within the framework of „Demokratie leben!“; since 2020 it has been funded as part of model projects of that programme. In 2019 the BAG published a 20-page document setting out quality standards for exit and distancing work from the extreme right, reflecting the professional consensus of its members. The standards cover the understanding of exit, the target group, requirements for exit work, shared ethical principles, quality assurance, transparency, data protection, independence, sustainability, the counselling process, trust and access, counselling agreements and documentation, help planning, security, counselling teams, team competence and professionalism, infrastructure, and exit work as part of networking and professional exchange. The association also offers training and counselling on dealing with far-right attitudes and behaviour for professionals throughout Germany. Its members include BackUp-Comeback e.V. with the U-Turn counselling centre in Dortmund, the CJD with Kurswechsel in Hamburg and JUMP in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Distance Ausstieg Rechts in Lower Saxony, and Drudel 11 e.V. with the Thüringer Beratungsdienst, among others.

The Bundesarbeitsgemeinschaft „Ausstieg zum Einstieg“ e.V. (BAG Ausstieg) traces its origins to the XENOS special programme „Ausstieg zum Einstieg“, which was launched in 2009 with funds from the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (BMAS) and the European Social Fund (ESF). It formed part of the German federal government's national action plan to combat racism, xenophobia, anti-Semitism and intolerance and ran until 2014. The special programme was the first to fund primarily project activities of exit-oriented work against right-wing extremism in occupational, company and labour-market-oriented contexts. Within the newly created project landscape, the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung acted as the interface commissioned by the federal government to coordinate the nationwide and international exchange of the projects as well as the transfer of experiences and results intended to develop model approaches for labour-market-oriented exit work. It organised regular networking meetings of the projects, conferences, workshops and the production of publications to promote exchange and the conceptual further development of exit options for people affiliated with or belonging to the far right. One product of this active cooperation was the brochure „TunnelLichtBlicke“, which provided deeper insight into the work of the participating projects, illustrated the diversity and professionalism of counselling for those willing to exit, introduced the actors of the projects involved in the programme and described case examples from their successful practice. At the end of the programme period, the organisations involved in the programme decided to expand and consolidate the effective networking character. As a result, the Bundesarbeitsgemeinschaft „Ausstieg zum Einstieg“ was founded out of the special programme. It initially continued to operate under the roof of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, and from 2015 with the support of the „Arbeitsstelle Rechtsextremismus und Gewalt“ (ARUG) in Braunschweig as a project activity within the federal programme „Demokratie leben!“. Since 2017 the Bundesarbeitsgemeinschaft „Ausstieg zum Einstieg“ e.V. (BAG-Ausstieg) has been an independent, registered, non-profit association and the nationwide umbrella organisation of civil-society providers of exit and distancing work from right-wing extremism. Between 2017 and 2019 the BAG Ausstieg was funded by the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth within the framework of the federal programme „Demokratie leben!“ under the heading „Förderung der Strukturentwicklung zum Bundeszentralen Träger“ (promotion of structural development towards a federal central provider). Since 2020 the BAG Ausstieg has been funded within the framework of model projects of the federal programme „Demokratie leben!“. In 2019 the association's work on quality standards produced a first result with the publication of a 20-page document reflecting the professional consensus of BAG Ausstieg members. The understanding of a successful exit in particular remains part of controversial professional discussions. The standards are structured into framework conditions for successful exit work, including the understanding of exit, the understanding of the target group, requirements for exit work, shared ethical principles, the understanding of quality assurance, transparency and information, data protection, independence, sustainability, the counselling process, trust/relationship and access to the counselling service, counselling agreement and documentation, help planning for reorientation, security, counselling teams, competence and professionalism of the team, infrastructure, and exit work as part of networking, cooperation and professional exchange. The members of the BAG offer people willing to exit — that is, people who want to leave the far-right scene and associated attitudes or distance themselves from them — low-threshold access to their services. They are not subject to the principle of legality and do not come into conflict of interest between the state mandate to gather information and the needs of those exiting. They are non-state, non-profit organisations in the field of distancing and exit assistance from right-wing extremism. The members of the BAG are networked locally, regionally and nationwide with relevant regular structures, counselling services and other exit projects. This makes individual, case-related, flexible and needs-based exit assistance possible. Current members include BackUp-Comeback e.V. with the U-Turn counselling centre in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia; the CJD with the Kurswechsel counselling centre in Hamburg and JUMP in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern; Distance Ausstieg Rechts from Lower Saxony with two counselling centres in north-eastern and southern Lower Saxony; and Drudel 11 e.V. with the Thüringer Beratungsdienst — exit from right-wing extremism and violence, among others.

• 2020

  The BAG Ausstieg is funded within the framework of model projects of the federal programme „Demokratie leben!“.

• 2019

  Publication of a 20-page document setting out quality standards for exit and distancing work from the extreme right, reflecting the professional consensus of BAG Ausstieg members.

• 2017

  The Bundesarbeitsgemeinschaft „Ausstieg zum Einstieg“ e.V. becomes an independent, registered, non-profit association and nationwide umbrella organisation.

• 2015

  The BAG continues with the support of the „Arbeitsstelle Rechtsextremismus und Gewalt“ (ARUG) in Braunschweig as a project activity within the federal programme „Demokratie leben!“.

• 2014

  End of the XENOS special programme; participating organisations decide to expand and consolidate the networking structure, founding the Bundesarbeitsgemeinschaft „Ausstieg zum Einstieg“.

• 2009

  XENOS special programme „Ausstieg zum Einstieg“ launched with funds from BMAS and the ESF as part of the national action plan against racism, xenophobia, anti-Semitism and intolerance; runtime until 2014.

Non-partisan, civil-society umbrella association promoting professional, low-threshold and needs-based exit and distancing work from far-right extremism, based on subsidiarity and shared quality standards.

• Quality standards for exit and distancing work from the extreme right

  A 20-page publication first issued in 2019 reflecting the professional consensus of BAG Ausstieg members, covering the understanding of exit, target group, requirements, ethics, quality assurance, transparency, data protection, independence, sustainability, counselling process, trust and access, documentation, help planning, security, teams, competence, infrastructure and networking.

• Training on exit and distancing counselling in the context of the (extreme) right

  Further training courses offered by the BAG for professionals throughout Germany on dealing with far-right attitudes and behaviour.

• Digital specialist forums

  Online specialist forums such as the 2026 forum on the limits of child and youth welfare in dealing with (extreme) right-wing youth.

1. 1Ausstieg zum Einstieg e.V. – Bundesarbeitsgemeinschaftbag-ausstieg.de
2. 2Über Uns – Ausstieg zum Einstieg e.V.bag-ausstieg.de
3. 3Bundesarbeitsgemeinschaft Ausstieg zum Einstieg – Wikipediade.wikipedia.org
4. 4Wikidata Q118140056wikidata.org