Only 20 people attended a far-right rally held in a small German town to celebrate the 130th anniversary of Adolf Hitler’s birth on Saturday.

The German newspaper Allgemeine Zeitung reported even lower numbers and said only 14 people had attended.

Organisers had hoped to gather 50 people to demonstrate in Ingelheim, a west German town near Frankfurt, according to news agency DPA.

Instead, thousands of counter-protesters filled the centre of the town as the far-right group began marching at 3pm.

Two anti-racist groups had called on their supporters to protest the birthday rally.

When fascists failed: Battle of Cable Street Show all 10 1 /10 When fascists failed: Battle of Cable Street When fascists failed: Battle of Cable Street Police push back anti-fascist protesters as riots erupt in what came to be known as the Battle of Cable Street ullstein bild via Getty When fascists failed: Battle of Cable Street The battle was a clash between the Blackshirts, members of the British Union of Fascists led by Sir Oswald Mosley who were marching through East London 5000 strong, and anti-fascist protesters who refused to let the march pass down Cable Street Getty When fascists failed: Battle of Cable Street The area of the East End around Cable Street was predominantly Jewish at the time, so the Blackshirts' presence was never going to be welcome Getty When fascists failed: Battle of Cable Street Estimates of the anti-fascist crowd vary between 100,000 and 500,000 with the local Irish community standing in solidarity with the Jews PA When fascists failed: Battle of Cable Street The anti-fascists were successful in their efforts, Mosley and the Blackshirts did not pass down Cable Street and were forced to flee back west towards Tower Bridge Getty When fascists failed: Battle of Cable Street Sir Oswald Mosley greets the Blackshirts prior to their march down Cable Street in the East End of London Getty When fascists failed: Battle of Cable Street A police officer moves to strike a protester during the Blackshirts' march through East London PA When fascists failed: Battle of Cable Street Sir Oswald Mosley leads the march of Blackshirts through the East End of London on 4 October 1936 Getty When fascists failed: Battle of Cable Street A protester is arrested by police at the Battle of Cable Street Getty When fascists failed: Battle of Cable Street A group inspects the damage done to a clothes shop window by fascists in the Battle of Cable Street Getty

The crowds jeered and drowned out the speech of the man leading the march.

Counter-protesters also waved EU flags and banners which read “more heart, less hate”, according to Deutsche Welle.

Ingelheim officials had initially banned the rally, saying that it would go against “citizens’ sense of dignity, custom and morals.”

But a regional court later overturned the ban.

The small far-right group rallied under a banner which read “maintaining the homeland, promoting the family and shaping the future.”

Police officers in Ingelheim said both rallies passed off peacefully.

On Friday the World Jewish Congress (WJC) urged European governments to act against pro-Hitler demonstrations.

“Planned events include meetings in various locations across France, a hiking trip and picnic in Ukraine, a rock concert in Italy and another two conventions in separate locations in Germany,” a spokesperson for the organisation said.

A three-day far-right conference in Bugaria also took place from 20 April to 22 April.

“The spirit of this conference is part and parcel with the inciting and violent nature of the annual [neo-Nazi] Lukov march and should be met with the same condemnation and denunciation,” Robert Singer, WJC’s chief executive, said in a letter sent directly to Mladen Marinov, Bulgaria’s Interior Minister.

“These gatherings are a stark reminder of the past,” a WJC spokesperson said on Twitter.

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“We must do everything we can to ensure history does not repeat itself.”