The National Democratic Party (''Nationaldemokratische Partei'', NDP) was a far-right political party in

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

from 1967 until 1988 when its status was revoked for violating the country's anti-Nazi legislation.

Party history

The NDP was registered as an association in 1966 in Innsbruck. Its first meeting as a national organisation took place in February 1967 in

Linz Linz ( , ; cs, Linec) is the capital of Upper Austria and third-largest city in Austria. In the north of the country, it is on the Danube south of the Czech border. In 2018, the population was 204,846. In 2009, it was a European Capital ...

. The party was founded by

Norbert Burger Norbert is a Germanic given name, from ''nord'' "north" and ''berht'' "bright". Norbert is also occasionally found as a surname. People with the given name Academia * Norbert Angermann (born 1936), German historian * Norbert A’Campo (born 194 ...

, former chairman of the ''Ring Freiheitlicher Studenten'', the student wing of the

Freedom Party of Austria The Freedom Party of Austria (german: Freiheitliche Partei Österreichs, FPÖ) is a right-wing populist and national-conservative political party in Austria. It was led by Norbert Hofer from September 2019 to 1 June 2021.Staff (1 June 2021"Aus ...

(FPÖ). Burger remained the key figure in the NDP until its dissolution. Further members included Herbert Fritz, and a number of "

South Tyrol it, Provincia Autonoma di Bolzano – Alto Adige lld, Provinzia Autonoma de Balsan/Bulsan – Südtirol , settlement_type = Autonomous area, Autonomous Provinces of Italy, province , image_skyline = ...

activists" (''Befreiungsausschuss Südtirol''). The Austrian NDP was based on the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

sister party, the

National Democratic Party of Germany The National Democratic Party of Germany (german: Nationaldemokratische Partei Deutschlands or NPD) is a far-right Neo-Nazi and ultranationalist political party in Germany. The party was founded in 1964 as successor to the German Reich Part ...

. Its first chairman was student Rudolf Watschinger. The party ran in the 1970 legislative election, receiving 2,631 (0.1%) of the votes cast. It advocated the ''

Anschluss The (, or , ), also known as the (, en, Annexation of Austria), was the annexation of the Federal State of Austria into the German Reich on 13 March 1938. The idea of an (a united Austria and Germany that would form a " Greater Germany ...

'' of Austria into Germany and the re-introduction of the death penalty. It also agitated against "superalienation" and "infiltration" by foreign workers (''

Gastarbeiter (; both singular and plural; ) are foreign or migrant workers, particularly those who had moved to West Germany between 1955 and 1973, seeking work as part of a formal guest worker program (). As a result, guestworkers are generally consider ...

''). Burger ran in the 1980 presidential election "for a German Austria", gaining 140,741 votes (3.2%). Two years later he and Gerd Honsik initiated a petition for a referendum "against superalienation", which however was not achieved.

Disbandment and prohibition

On 25 June 1988 the NDP was forbidden by a verdict of the

Constitutional Court of Austria The Constitutional Court (german: Verfassungsgerichtshof or ) in Austria is the tribunal responsible for judicial review. It verifies the constitutionality of statutes, the legality of ordinances and other primary and secondary legislation, sec ...

on the basis of the

Verbotsgesetz 1947 The Verbotsgesetz 1947 (Prohibition Act 1947), abbreviated VerbotsG, is an Austrian constitutional law originally passed on 8 May 1945 (Victory in Europe Day) and amended multiple times, most significantly in February 1947 and in 1992. It banned t ...

and Article 9 of the

Austrian State Treaty The Austrian State Treaty (german: Österreichischer Staatsvertrag ) or Austrian Independence Treaty re-established Austria as a sovereign state. It was signed on 15 May 1955 in Vienna, at the Schloss Belvedere among the Allied occupying p ...

(''Disbandment of Nazi Organisations''), revoking its legal capacity as a political party. In its explanatory statement the court determined that the NDP's "key principles and demands" are based on "biological-racist ideology ("Volksbegriff")" and also that its "pan-German Propaganda" is in agreement with the main goals of the

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported t ...

. As an association the NDP was disbanded on 21 November 1988.

Bibliography

* DÖW (Hg.): ''Handbuch des österreichischen Rechtsextremismus'', Deuticke, Wien 1993 (2. Auflage),

External links

VfGH-Erkenntnis B999/87
{{DEFAULTSORT:National Democratic Party (Austria, 1967-88) Defunct political parties in Austria Banned far-right parties Far-right political parties in Austria German nationalist political parties Nationalist parties in Austria Neo-Nazism in Austria German nationalism in Austria 1967 establishments in Austria 1988 disestablishments in Austria Political parties established in 1967 Political parties disestablished in 1988 Freedom Party of Austria breakaway groups