The Search for U-96: The Last Secret
2025 Finalist
Media associated with this campaign
Overview of this campaign
The podcast “The Search for U-96 – The Last Secret” investigates the mystery surrounding the final whereabouts of the legendary U-Boat U-96, aiming to uncover evidence of its alleged incorporation into a dam in Wilhelmshaven.
This six-part investigative series follows leads, features eyewitness and expert interviews, includes archival research in London, and critically examines the wartime mission and historical context. The podcast also explores the myth of Das Boot with insights from actors and historians. For the first time, exclusive recordings of the original crew are released at the end of each episode. These recordings capture the voices of crew members who were on board during the 1941 patrol—an event depicted in the book and film—as they recount their lives after the war.
For NWZ, this is the most complex and comprehensive project to date. In addition to host Julian Reusch, another journalist worked almost full-time on the investigation, supported by an extended team. While NWZ typically focuses on regional stories, this project was designed from the outset for a nationwide audience due to its well-known subject matter.
To build anticipation, NWZ launched a four-part newsletter before the podcast’s release. Simultaneously, the war diaries of U-96’s last chief engineer, originally published in 2016, were reissued and made available for this project.
This podcast also marks NWZ’s first paid podcast experiment. Subscribers could access all episodes immediately, while others had to wait a week for each new release.
From the beginning, all departments collaborated to ensure the podcast’s success.
Results for this campaign
Our goal was to achieve around 5,000 streams per episode. This target was quickly surpassed. To date, all six episodes have been listened to by more than 77,000 people. Among them were over 6,500 existing NWZ subscribers who took advantage of their subscription to access all episodes immediately. Additionally, several dozen new subscribers signed up specifically to listen to all episodes at once rather than waiting for the free release on platforms like Spotify.
For NWZ, this has been the most successful podcast series we have ever produced. In the Spotify charts for the “Stories” category, we consistently ranked between 20 and 25 after each new episode—alongside major public broadcasting and magazine podcast brands. This confirms that our goal of reaching a nationwide audience was successful, with over 80% of listeners coming from outside our region.
More than 700 people subscribed to our newsletter, which had an exceptional average open rate of over 75%. Additionally, we have sold more than 750 copies of the special edition print publication to date.
For NWZ, this project serves as a blueprint for how we can professionally execute and market large-scale investigative projects across all departments. It also marks a key step in our strategic development this year. With two dedicated full-time positions, we are heavily investing in podcasts as a way to reach new audiences and provide added value for our existing customers. We firmly believe in podcasts as a vital journalistic format.
From a content perspective, we must acknowledge that our research did not uncover definitive new evidence proving that Das Boot is actually embedded in the dam. However, we have received numerous responses and additional leads—so it remains entirely possible that we will eventually find the final proof.
