NPR

Protesters Throng Berlin In Massive Rally To Support 'Open And Free Society'

Organizers expected 40,000 people to show up at their march Saturday. Instead, they say, more than 240,000 attended. The event comes at a time when far-right populists are gaining ground in Germany.
Demonstrators march Saturday in a massive protest against racism in Berlin.

When German organizers pulled together a demonstration in Berlin to support "an open and free society," they had some ambitious goals. They expected roughly 40,000 people to pack the span from Berlin's city center, from Alexanderplatz to the Victory Column, where they were holding their final rally of the day.

As it turns out, those expectations

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