1. Skip to content
  2. Skip to main menu
  3. Skip to more DW sites
Live TV
Latest audioLatest videos
In focus
Middle EastUS election Ukraine

Banning the NPD

December 3, 2013

Germany has long debated whether or not it should ban the far-right NPD, the National Democratic Party, by using its constitutional laws. Each time though, the debate has been thwarted. So can Germany ban the NPD?

https://p.dw.com/p/14mxy
GELSENKIRCHEN, GERMANY - JUNE 10: Neo-Nazis demonstrate June 10, 2006 in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. About 200 right-wing National Democratic Party (NPD) members demonstrated in the World Cup host city Gelsenkirchen. (Photo by Ralph Orlowski/Getty Images)
Image: Getty Images

Few dispute that right-wing extremist parties are undemocratic. But proving their unconstitutionality is a touchy issue and makes instituting a political ban difficult.

The NPD currently holds seats in two state parliaments: Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Saxony, both in eastern Germany, but nothing in the national parliament. Interior ministers from all 16 German states have agreed to begin the process to ban the National Democratic Party (NPD). But it's likely to prove a long process. And it's one that failed once before.

DW asks whether or not it will be possible to ban the NPD this time and looks at the current state of investigations into the far-right, and what politicians, as well as other groups, are doing to lessen the influence of the right-wing movement.

Skip next section Reports & Analysis

Reports & Analysis

Right-wing radicals demonstrate in Germany Photo: Uli Deck/dpa

Stopping the NPD

German states try again to ban the far-right NPD party, after an earlier failed attempt in 2003.
December 3, 2013
File picture shows a boy at a demonstration rally of supporters of the extreme right National Democratic Party of Germany

A second attempt

A new attempt is being made to ban the far-right NPD, but not everyone supports it.
April 25, 2013
external

Bundestag majority rejects ban on far-right NPD

A majority in the German parliament has voted against pursuing a ban on the far-right NPD. The government says the party must be fought politically, and that it's clear the NPD will never enjoy popular support in Germany.
April 25, 201301:35 min
Demonstration rally of supporters of the extreme right National Democratic Party of Germany (NPD)

The far-right is ready

A new right-wing extremist party has crept onto the political scene - unnoticed by most.
December 15, 2012

Far-Right Extremism - An ongoing problem in Germany’s east

Far-right extremism remains a problem in Germany, particularly in eastern regions. The town of Zossen in the state of Brandenburg, for example, continues to make headlines due to the actions of neo-Nazi groups. In the coming days, the German government will decide whether to make another attempt at banning the far-right National Democratic Party of Germany, or NPD.
PoliticsNovember 29, 201203:41 min
Neo-Nazi demonstration (Photo by Ralph Orlowski/Getty Images)

Stopping the NPD?

Germany debates another attempt to ban the country's largest extremist right-wing party.
December 8, 2012

The Fight Against Right-Wing Extremism - Does an NPD Ban Make Sense?

Imposing a ban on the far-right National Democratic Party (NPD) is a complex matter; the authorities have compiled a dossier with the aim of showing that the entire party - and not just a few of its members - is anti-constitutional. Meanwhile, a growing number of politicians are casting doubt on the point of ban, arguing that it will do nothing to prevent right-wing extremism.
PoliticsOctober 25, 201204:29 min
NPD demonstrators Foto: Boris Roessler dpa/lhe +++(c) dpa - Bildfunk+++Foto: Boris Roessler dpa/lhe (zu lhe 7250 vom 10.11.2010) +++(c) dpa - Bildfunk+++

Banning the far-right?

German interior ministers face challenges in their efforts to ban the far-right NPD party.
December 5, 2012
A man seen from behind, with a shaved head, and a tattoo of the word Skinhead

Eastern German racism

Xenophobia has unexpected costs in the German states where it is perceived to have taken root.
PoliticsMay 1, 2013
Participants of the "Russians" nationalistic union's rally in Moscow (Photo: Iliya Pitalev/RIA Novosti)

Neo-Nazis globalize

Cooperation between right-wing extremists from different countries is gaining strength.
September 21, 2013
This is the self-made return ticket that politicians such as Fabricio do Canto from the Pirate Party received from the NPD party, asking them to return back home

'Hello migrant' - 'Leave!'

The far-right party NPD sends out hate mail to foreign-born candidates - and gets an answer.
September 20, 2013
Left-wing demonstrators protesting on Tuesday against the right-extremist NPD. Foto: Ole Spata/dpa

Protests at Berlin refugee center

The German capital has seen a third day of demonstrations over a new center for asylum seekers. The protests could bring the issue of immigration more to the fore as general elections loom.
August 21, 2013
Show more stories