A record influx of refugees to Germany has cast an ugly spotlight on its formerly communist east, which has been rocked by a disproportionate wave of racist protests and hate crimes.

Small towns such as Heidenau and Freital have earned nationwide notoriety as neo-Nazis and angry residents have hurled abuse at people fleeing war and misery -- and rocks at police sent to protect those seeking a safe haven.

Police in east Germany clashed late Friday with far-right activists protesting against the opening of a center for refugees, police said.

Several hundred people turned up in Heidenau, near Dresden, to demonstrate against the expected arrival of hundreds of refugees in a protest called by the far-right National Democratic Party.

Three people were injured Friday when clashes erupted between far-right demonstrators and pro-refugee protesters in the eastern German city of Dresden, where hundreds of asylum seekers are due to be given shelter.

Some 200 members of the far-right NPD had gathered in protest against the arrival this weekend of 800 refugees, the majority from Syria, German news agency DPA reported.

German police banned a planned rally by the anti-Islamic PEGIDA movement and other public open-air gatherings in the eastern city of Dresden Monday, citing a terrorist threat.

Dresden police said Sunday they had received information from federal and state counterparts indicating a "concrete threat" against the right-wing populist group "Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamization of the Occident."

A Turkish community leader in Germany warned Sunday against proposals by mainstream politicians for "dialogue" with a far-right populist movement that has drawn thousands to anti-Islamic street protests.