Thousands of Germans went to the streets on Saturday in protest over rallies held by neo-Nazi groups in Nuremberg and Hamburg.

The rightists, who reject the Nuremberg war crimes trials that ended 60 years ago, were heavily outnumbered in both cities.

Riot police kept the two groups apart to prevent brawls.

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In Nuremberg, where the courthouse has turned into a memorial to the triumph of justice over the Nazis, police counted 2,000 people at an anti-Nazi protest addressed by the mayor, Ulrich Maly, while only a handful of demonstrators attended the neo-Nazi rally.

In the port city of Hamburg, several leftists from a crowd of 1,000 clashed with the police.

A German police spokeswoman said about 180 far-rightists took part in a parade in Hamburg.

On October 1, 1946, the war crimes tribunal ordered 12 top Nazis to be hanged.