Initially, they were. Then they became important to protect Europe from the Soviets. I would argue that to some extent they're still fulfilling that function.
But please make no mistake. The extreme right is still popular in Germany and generally in northwest Europe, in some places commanding ~35% of the votes. Far left (meaning having political positions not even American "communists" would support) commands another 10-15% of the vote, even in East Germany where, let's just say that a lot of the population has good reason to distrust them.
