This archive report was first published on 23 November 2019.
On November 22, 2019, a far-right protest in Hanover, Germany, was dwarfed by a counter-demonstration, with police estimating 7,000 people participated in the counter-demonstration.
The counter-protesters, carrying a range of flags and placards, marched in the northern city to defend diversity and freedom of the press.
Earlier in the week, police had tried to ban the far-right National Democratic Party (NPD) demonstration, arguing it posed a danger to public safety, but on Friday a court ruled that it could go ahead.
The NPD called their demonstration to denounce journalists who have investigated the far-right in Germany, naming several journalists in the process.
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas tweeted in response, "We were able to see in Hanover what is true for all of Germany: the neo-nazis and fear-mongers who stir up hate against journalists are a minority."
One journalist singled out by the NPD was Julian Feldmann, who made a programme for German state television about suspected Nazi war criminal Karl Muenter, implicated in a 1944 massacre of 86 people in Ascq, northern France.
Founded in 1964, the NPD has around 6,000 members, and in January 2017, the constitutional court rejected moves to ban the party, the second time it has blocked such a move in 15 years.
