The National Democratic Party (Nationaldemokratische Partei Deutschlands, or NPD) is Germany's oldest nationalist party since 1945 and one of the few patriotic organizations not yet banned by the government. It was formed on November 28, 1964, by leading members of the disbanded Deutsche Reichspartei and several smaller patriotic groups. At that time the NPD was led by Adolf von Thadden, while other active members included the noted revisionist historian Udo Walendy, ex-Wehrmacht General Artur Wilhelm Schmitt, and rocket pioneer Dr. Hermann Oberth. Among those offering their early support and assistance was Britain's Fascist leader Sir Oswald Mosley. In a letter of December 16, 1964, to leading NPD member Wolfgang Frenz, Mosley wrote enthusiastically of his hopes for the new party, stressing that it is "of the greatest importance ... to support the formation of a nationalist party for Europe".

The NPD grew rapidly during the 1960's, gaining elected representatives in seven West German provincial parliaments. Initially it was held together by a common commitment to German unification and an end to occupation by foreign armies. The party lacked a radical ideology, however, and this was highlighted when it lost most of its support to established conservative politicians who adopted some of the NPD's goals during the 1970's. At the end of that decade, therefore, the then chairman, Martin Mussgnug, began a restructuring which combined the dropping of much of the early conservative political rhetoric with an emphasis on the ideological education of members. Thereafter the party began concentrating upon building a strong organizational infrastructure, rather than upon short-term electioneering. Consequently, after the partial reunification of Germany in 1990, the NPD was able to gain considerable strength in the eastern part of the country: the former German Democratic Republic. In fact, the party's largest regional organization is currently in Leipzig.
Under Udo Voigt, who has headed the party since 1996, the NPD continues to pursue a revolutionary political course and seeks the active cooperation of serious, like-minded organizations worldwide. In September 1996 the NPD's youth organization sponsored a European Youth Congress attended by 400 German nationalists and representatives of racial nationalist organizations from across Europe and North America, with the National Alliance representing the United States. Udo Voigt was born in the city of Viersen in 1952 and joined the German Air Force (Bundesluftwaffe) in 1972 after completing his professional training in airplane construction. He later completed his officership in the German Army (Bundeswehr) and continued his schooling at training centers in the United States and Greece. He left the Bundeswehr in 1984, having attained the rank of captain. In the following years he studied political science at the Ludwig-Maximilian University in Munich, receiving a degree in 1987.
Voigt joined the NPD in 1968, when he was 16 years old, and ten years later he was a branch leader in Freising. In 1982 he became a member of the NPD's leadership council in Bavaria, and two years after he joined the party's national leadership board. In 1984 Voigt was appointed as head of the NPD's education center at Iseo in northern Italy, where his seminars helped to educate the current party leadership. The same year he was given control of security matters, schooling members of the NPD security troop at the regional and national levels.
In 1986 Voigt became part of the Parteipräsidium, the NPD chairman's advisory committee, and in 1992 was elected NPD chairman for Bavaria. In 1995 he became vice-chairman of the party and in 1996 was elected chairman of the NPD.

Like his predecessor as NPD chairman, Günter Deckert, Voigt is being hounded by the German government because of his political views. He is currently the subject of police investigation for alleged "defamation of the state and its symbols", which is a criminal offense under the current German regime. His offense was a statement he made at the NPD party congress on May 1, 1996. Voigt compared German democracy with the Communist system in the former German Democratic Republic in its suppression of nationalist political activity across Germany: "We live once again in a police state in which we have no right of freedom of speech ... Those who criminalize people for voicing their opinions are themselves criminals."
In the year 2000 the German parliament and the Federal Government wanted to forbid the NPD. They requested the prohibition of the NPD at the Federal Constitutional Court. During the lawsuit it became known, that some stated accusations were produced by agents of the German Secret Service. Finally, on 18 March 2003 the lawsuit was stopped and the party can look again into a hopeful future.

The Nationaldemocratic Party of Germany (NPD) has recently made good progress in municiple and local elections. This applies especially to former "East" German areas where 5 to 15% were not seldom. Good results were also noticeable in a number of larger cities. Here –in some of the city districts- as much as up to 21% of the electorate voted NPD. Similar success was also attained in a number of counties where up to 9% was not unusual.
Due to continual failed policies of all the mainstream established Parties events have pushed NPD results upwards.
The NPD was most successful in 2004. The party achieved 9,2 % of the electorate in the state election in Saxony and is now present in state parliament with 9 representatives. As such the NPD could, for the first time since 1968, jump the prohibitive 5 % hurdle and re-enter a state parliament.
Sunday the 17th of September 2006 was a real shock and a slap in the face for the system-parties in the German Federal Republic. Communists, Social democrats, Christian democrats and Liberals expressed their outrage in numerous comments on both TV and radio. A renewed procedure similar to a church ritual whenever German patriots achieve success! In this case a victory of 7.3% of the electorate for the NPD in the north eastern state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. In some of the eastern regions results of between 10 to 15% were achieved. This result allows 6 German Nationalists to represent the NPD in State Parliament in Schwerin and means that the NPD is now present in 2 state parliaments. According to reports, the younger the voters were, the better the result for the NPD. Good news for the NPD and even better news for the true Germany.